Author's Note: Sorry about the shift in the chapters everyone, but the file for chapter seven turned out to be too long, so I decided to go back and split the chapter up so that the parts that somehow got cut out got put back in. I also wrote the song 'Fly Away' that is used in this chapter in case anyone was wondering. Thanks again to Zeo-Chan for all of her help with this chapter.
The redhead jumped as though she had been shot and it was only that fact that she was wearing her seatbelt that she remained in the chair. Duke glared at Kaiba. "What's your problem pal? Are you jealous that she wants to learn more about Dungeon Dice Monsters instead of your duel monsters?"
"Oh, it's not about her wanting you to teach more about Dungeon Dice you idiot." Kaiba snapped, glaring. His fist was clenched at his side as he watched the two.
Tamara was now looking back and forth between the two of them, and carefully got out of the verbal line of fire. "It's okay Duke, I'll take the instruction book that you were showing me and go from there."
In answer the emerald eyed man smiled at her. "It's no trouble showing you around Tamara. Please, at least let me give you my e-mail, just in case you have any questions..."
Kaiba was still growling as Duke told her to email him if she had any questions. His hands were aching with the need to kill something (Duke) and he wasn't about to leave without killing something (Duke). "Let's go, Tamara," Kaiba ground out, crossing the distance between them and laid his hands on her shoulders and glared at Duke, hoping that the icy gaze would convey his death promise.
Sighing, the redhead took out a smaller notebook, scribbled something on it then tore out the paper. Handing it to Duke, she nodded and murmured something to him before following Set Kaiba out.
Duke met Kaiba's gaze, but turned when Tamara handed him the paper and smiled at her before going into the back room when one of his cheerleaders called him.
Kaiba leaned down, hoping to catch what was on the paper but he couldn't see anything. He looked up to meet Duke's challenging gaze and he frowned. "What did you give him?" Kaiba asked, his curiosity getting the better of him as he stormed out through the door with Tamara behind him.
"My school e-mail address." She replied, glaring at him. "Goddess, I thought my brother's bodyguards were bad when he used to sick them on me, but you take these things to a whole new level. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were jealous and actually courting me."
By the time she had finished speaking; Kaiba's mouth had practically hit the concrete. "That is… is absurd!" he stuttered, taking a deep breath and opened his mouth again. "I was simply telling him to stop before he got ready to grope you. Is that what you wanted from him?" Kaiba snapped, not really caring for the answer she might give. "Trust me, I wouldn't..." he froze again.
"Grope me? What are you talking about? Any one of his cheerleaders' will be clearly far more attractive and loyal to him then I am. Besides, I don't have enough for him to get a hold of in the first place. Besides, I do know how to hit him and where!" She looked more frustrated than angry now. "I may be in a wheelchair, but I can handle unwanted attentions on my own! Besides, you aren't interested in me that way, remember? If I want to pursue a romance, then that is my right. You are already getting what you want."
Kaiba all but growled again. She was pushing his buttons and pushing him over the edge. How long was he going to be tortured like this? His hands shook again.
"As long as I remain a virgin, it doesn't matter to my brother what I do." She shrugged and brushed past him, frowning. "Damn... I have the feeling I'm forgetting to tell you something, but for the life of me..." She muttered to herself.
Now Kaiba ignored her, trying to keep his temper in check. He took a deep breath, "Are you still wanting to go to Yugi's shop then?" he pointed across the street.
Tamara thought for a minute, before she slowly shook her head. "Not right now, Mr. Kaiba. Oh! I remember now." She reached into the side packet and handed him a small ring box. "I found this while going though my things last night, I figured that you could use it when we got married as my wedding ring." Inside the box was an old looking simple silver ring with a light blue stone that matched her eyes.
Curious now, Kaiba gently took the box from her outstretched hand. He glanced down at it and smiled sadly. He wanted her to wear his ring (gold, with a sapphire surrounded by diamonds) and here she was, offering him this ring to use as her wedding ring. He sighed and handed the box back to her. "It's up to you if you want to use this instead; I'm not going to be picky about rings."
In answer, Tamara smiled sadly. "I'm very hard to buy rings for. This was one of my mother's rings, but it's still too big for me. My ring finger is a four and a half, mother was a five."
"Hmmm..." Kaiba said, thinking, still holding the box in his hand. "How about this: We go to the ring store, have a copy of the ring made, in your size of course, and you can hang onto this and save it for something else. Will that work?" Kaiba asked, trying to make up for earlier.
Slowly, she nodded. "Yes. Thank you very much Mr. Kaiba. What about you? Did you want a real ring as well?"
Kaiba chuckled, "Back to Mr. Kaiba yet again are we? I'm fine, I don't need a ring. I'll be fine without one," he said, nodding his head. "We can go this afternoon if you'd prefer," he said, glancing at his watch.
"Yes please. Jake will call me if something comes up. I think that you should get a ring too, if only for the justice of the peace, you don't have to wear it after."
Uninterested, Kaiba nodded, agreeing with her so as to keep the fragile peace that was slowly growing between them. "All right, I'll get the ring. I suppose, just to be nice, I'll let you choose my ring." he smirked, before hurriedly looking away from her.
Tamara raised an eyebrow, before a slow smile spread across her face. "If you are sure..." She slid up to his side. "Any place in mind?"
Kaiba knew she had something wicked in mind but he really didn't care at the moment. "You choose the place, not picky remember." he said, smiling and looking across the road.
"I'm new here remember Mr. Kaiba? Besides, I don't get jewelry much, at least, not for myself." She said modestly.
"Oh yeah," Kaiba nodded, "Hmmm... How about we go to one of the smaller shops around here, deal?" he said, cocking his head sideways to glance down at her. "And maybe you can pick out more than the ring if you'd like." he offered, still trying to make up for earlier.
"Cool. I need to make up for not having a birthday present for Jake. He says he didn't care, but I still feel bad." For the first time, Tamara gave him her special smile, which made her dimples flash and her face light up as well as her eyes.
Kaiba laughed at this. "All right then," He liked seeing her smile like that. He felt himself grow slightly hot and he smiled even wider. "Well, let's go!" he announced, shaking his head with the grin still on his face.
Tamara's smile faded and she looked thoughtful again. "May I ask you a question?"
"Hmm? Sure, go ahead." Kaiba said, his eyebrow was now raised questioningly.
"Are you absolutely set on having the agreement annulled at the three month mark?" She asked, sounding serious again, and not playful like she had been before.
"We don't have to have it annulled at three months if you don't want to. Like I said, I'm not picky today." he stated, shrugging his thin shoulders. "What's with the serious question all of a sudden?"
"Because I was just mentally going though the academy schedule, and I won't be able to come back until Christmas break unless Jake needs me for something." She said seriously.
"Ah, that's all right then. If you'd like to wait until then, then I'm fine with it." Kaiba said. "Well, I don't think there's anything that requires both of us so you should be fine on that." he thought out loud, a finger resting on his chin.
Tamara's face brightened. "Good, I don't like tangles, and Jake gives me more than enough of them to handle."
Kaiba laughed again. "Oh, and what does Jake have you do exactly?" he poked at her.
"I do absolutely anything and everything that he can do or just doesn't want to do. Mostly though, I handle the behind the scenes stuff unless Jake wants me at a party." She smiled cheerfully. "He owns the company; I just help, though he keeps trying to legally give it to me. He's not really a business person."
Ah," Kaiba mumbled, nodding. "So you don't go to many parties then? Or does he like going to those?" Kaiba joked, smiling. "So how come you won't accept the company from him?"
"He can't do that legally remember? My dad's side is a bunch of male chauvinistic pigs. And no, we both hate parties, but I'm better at dealing with people than he is."
"Oh yeah," Kaiba finally did remember. "It wouldn't seem that he dislikes parties, and dealing with people." Kaiba spoke, shaking his head. He understood that perfectly.
"Well, I don't really like it either, but I've learned to accept it cause of my disability." She replied, shrugging and looking solemn now. "I like books better than people."
"Oh, I know that feeling well, except in my case I prefer the company of my computer and silent room, and my little brother of course." Kaiba joked, but his tone still gave away he was serious. He looked away from her, keeping his head turned in the other direction. "But I don't understand why you need to accept it with your disability," he shrugged, running his slender fingers through his hair and squinted against the bright sunlight.
Tamara shrugged. There are a lot of things that I have a hard time doing myself, so I would have to ask somebody to help me." Her voice was almost too level, for this was a rather personal subject for her.
"Ah," Kaiba mumbled again, unsure what to say. He was too proud of a person to ask for help from people, especially if it concerned the bathroom. "Well, that must've been a good way to get rid of any fear or nervousness," Kaiba's own joke was lame and he mentally rolled his eyes at himself.
"I just shut it out and suck it up." She replied calmly. "Don't worry; I won't embarrass you by asking for that kind of help once the arrangement is made Mr. Kaiba."
Kaiba pushed open the door to the ring shop. "Hmmm... All right, if you say so," he said, winking at her, hoping to worm a giggle out of her. "But really, please call me Seto instead of Mr. Kaiba."
The redhead gave him an odd look. "The only one you allow to call you by your first name is your brother."
"Unless I ask that you call me that." Kaiba pointed out.
She sighed. "All right then... Seto." She gave a small shy smile.
Kaiba smiled, before he turned his gaze to the salesperson who stepped out from the back. "Thank you, Tamara," He said softly, smiling towards the woman.
"For what?" She asked as they arrived to the jewelry store and entered.
"Eh," was all Kaiba said, pushing open the door and entering, then turned around to hold it open for her. "Hello," He greeted the woman with another dazzling smile and walked up to the glass counter.
Tamara looked around the shop quietly, as the saleswoman paid Kaiba all the consideration.
"We are looking for a ring," Kaiba said, giving a funny look then glanced back at Tamara. "Actually, maybe if you ask her, she can give you a better idea of what we're looking for." Kaiba smiled widely, pointing in Tamara's direction.
However, the redhead in question hadn't heard a word that Seto had said because she had stopped and was looking in a case. "May I please see this ring ma'am?" She asked politely, rolling back carefully as she spoke. Nodding, the saleswoman flashed another smile at Kaiba, but filled Tamara's request. The ring that had caught Tamara's attention was a simple silver ring that held a ruby teardrop in the center.
Kaiba looked over her shoulder, smiling. The ring she chose was simply beautiful. He laid a careful hand on her shoulder then leaned down. "Beautiful," He said, his face soft for the first time.
"Praise the Goddess, a perfect ring that symbolizes who I really serve while also being subtle for our purposes without raising undue comment. It even matches my uniforms." She said as she stared at the ring, seemingly not hearing or noticing Kaiba was beside her.
Watching her in silence, Kaiba cocked his head sideways. Was she talking to herself? He chuckled and tapped her on the shoulder. "All right, it matches your uniforms. Have you seen any others you like?"
There was a reverent light in her face as she slowly slid the ring on her hand. She jumped when he touched her and seemed to come back to herself. "Do we need an engagement ring too?" She asked in a quiet voice so the saleslady couldn't hear.
Not really caring, Kaiba only shrugged. "It's up to you," he said, leaving the matter open for her to decide what she wanted to do. "But, I have to say that the ring looks good. Is it the right size for you, or will the ring need to be resized for you?" he asked, looking down at her hand.
"It's too big, so I'll need it resized." She said, reluctantly taking the ring off her hand, and inspecting it carefully. "I think it'll be okay though after it is fixed." Slowly, she put the ring in his hand. "Don't loose this Seto Kaiba; I won't be happy if you do." Her voice was soft, but it was clear she was giving him an order.
He laughed at this. "Yes ma'am." he felt the urge to salute her but he restrained himself. He turned to the saleswoman, "We'll need this resized but we'll continue looking at the rest of the rings." he reached across the counter to hand it to the woman.
"What size sir?" She asked with a smile.
"A four and a half ma'am," he replied.
"All right, are you looking for something as well?"
Kaiba glanced down at Tamara again. "Ask the lady, she's the shopper today." his voice was playful as he wrapped a now loose lock of hair around his index finger.
Tamara looked surprised at his seemingly genuine gesture of affection, but covered it fast as she opened her hand another to reveal another ring, this one was plain and looked to be made of fine silver wire.
He glanced down. "This one?" he asked, trying to keep from showing his true thoughts about it.
"This one is also for me. Silver is for females, gold is for males." She replied calmly.
"And have you thought about the ring that you would like me to wear?" He asked, absently continuing to play with her hair, curious as to what her opinion would be.
She thought for a long moment, considering it seriously. "I was thinking along the lines of a simple gold band, maybe with a sapphire stone in it. It's up to you. Would you mind not doing that? It looks as though you are trying to turn my own hair into a wedding ring." Tamara answered, absently trying to rescue the lock of hair between his fingers.
Kaiba jerked his finger from the lock of hair, letting it fall down to her shoulder. His face flamed at her comment. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked to the door that the woman disappeared through.
Tamara smirked and she tucked the offending lock behind her small bare ear. "My hair's a mess... I'm going to have to do something with it before Jake calls..." she murmured to herself. "I'd cut it all off if Jake let me..."
The elder Kaiba brother's eyes went wide when she said that. "Why?" he asked, locking his hand around the end of the braid and hanging onto it as much as he could without pulling her hair.
"I want to get it cut because that way I could take care of it myself without relying on my brother's help. He's not going to like it, but I'm going to have to get it cut before I leave. Both of our brothers love my hair, though why that is I have no idea." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Personally, I'm not too attached to my hair, though everyone else seems to think my hair is by far my best feature."
Kaiba smiled sadly. Maybe they loved her hair because they couldn't find something else to love about her. He picked up the stray lock again and wrapped it back around his finger and went back to stroking it. "It is one of your best features, but not the only one." Kaiba said softly, lost in his thoughts.
"You are going to be using my hair as a leash aren't you?" she muttered, telling her heart to stop skipping beats.
"A leash? Oh no, I just enjoy messing with it. But if you insist, then I shall." Kaiba joked, smiling and noticed the woman slip back into the room. "Would you mind resizing this ring she has as well?" He politely asked the woman.
The saleslady smiled brightly at Kaiba and nodded, putting something on the counter in front of them. "Here we are! Would one of these do?" She asked, opening a small case. The case contained several rings, including a plain gold ring, a gold band with a sapphire teardrop, and a gold ring that held a sapphire surrounded by smaller blue stones the exact shade of a blue-eyes white dragon.
Kaiba looked at the three rings being held out for their inspection. He glanced back at Tamara, mentally wishing she would go for the ring with the sapphire on it. He glanced back to the ring again, wondering if his face was giving away what he was thinking.
Tamara gave the plain silver ring to the saleswoman. "Go ahead and pick Seto, you're the one who has to wear it, not me."
Feeling oddly touched by her offer, Kaiba smiled and his eyes fell on the third ring. He gingerly touched it for a moment before plucking it from the box and sliding it onto his ring finger. It slid on without a problem and it glittered in the store lights. "Almost like..." his voice trailed off. 'Almost like a Blue Eyes White Dragon…' he thought, still staring at it.
She just hid a smile, thanking her Goddess that the rings were just for show.
Kaiba nodded, slid the ring off his finger and put it back into the box. "I'll take this one," He said, giving it back to the woman. "But, I really need to get something for Mokuba. I might have to go to the games store to keep him quiet." Kaiba thought out loud. His eyes swept back over the counters. His younger brother wasn't one for jewelry. His eyes landed on a simple diamond ring. He moved towards it, motioned for the woman to go over to him and tapped the display case. "This one as well, please." He said.
Still smiling, the redhead found another ring, the twin to her first choice, but with a gold band instead of silver. "May I have this ring too in a size seven?" She asked after the lady complied with Kaiba's request.
You could almost hear the cash register ringing up in her mind as the saleslady complied with each of them.
Unconcerned, Kaiba's eyes fluttered over each price tag. It would be an awfully expensive day but he didn't mind. It would be worth the price for this shopping trip. He took the ring the woman handed him; this one was a perfect fit as well.
"Well, I'm set. Three is more than enough for me. What about you Seto?" Tamara asked.
He was still admiring the rings. He wanted both, but wondered if he really wanted the two. 'Oh, what the heck I'll get them both.' He thought, before he looked over at her. "Add her rings onto my bill as well." he commanded the woman, picking up the box and put the ring back inside.
Tamara's mouth dropped open slightly when she heard the price. "I can..." She started to say faintly, not wanting him to think she was a big money spender.
Now that he was feeling generous while in a rare good mood, Kaiba only waved his hand good-maturely and ignored her. "Put hers on my bill," he said again, looking straight into her eyes and hoped she wouldn't put up a huge fight.
She sighed and looked away. "As you wish."
Kaiba laughed and looked back at the register. The rings were going to cost quite a bit. He reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet.
Suddenly, the sound of Mozart filled the room as Tamara's cell phone rang. "Excuse me." She said, quickly leaving the shop to answer her call.
He rolled his eyes but he didn't follow her outside. "Uh," the woman at the register mumbled. He turned his attention back to the bill. He pulled out a credit card, let the woman swipe it, and signed the bill. Carrying the bag of rings out, he tucked the wallet into his shirt pocket and stepped outside, a couple feet away from Tamara.
"Yes, yes, I understand. Do I have time to drop off my uniforms and fix my hair before I meet you at the cemetery? Huh? Oh, okay. Yes, I'll get the directions and call you when I get there so I can find you. Were you...? Okay, you're getting the roses? Fine. I'll see you there." The redhead looked sad as she slowly closed her phone.
Kaiba cocked his head sideways. Cemetery? Roses? What was she talking about? "Is everything all right?" He asked Tamara, staying the couple feet away from her.
She swallowed. "Mother is here."
Confused, Kaiba nodded, trying to understand what she meant by that. "All right," he said, finally unsure on what to say. "Is there anywhere else you would like to go?"
"I need to go back to the apartment to drop off my things and get directions." She managed a tired smile. "If you need to go back to work, I can manage Seto..."
He shook his head no. "No, I'm fine. I'll go with you." he waved his hands around. "Besides, Mokuba knows what to do if something comes up. I'll go with you."
"All right. Do you want me to carry the rings for you?"
"I'm fine, I'll carry them." he said, stepping up next to her and laying a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ready to go then?" he asked.
"Yes. I'm ready." She said quietly, waiting for him to take the lead.
In silence, Kaiba pushed ahead, hearing her follow quietly. He was a little shaken. It was like she suddenly went lifeless right before his eyes. He bit the corner of his bottom lip, trying to think of something to cheer her up.
"Where is your step-father buried?" She asked quietly, but looking straight ahead as she spoke.
Kaiba was silent on that. Seto did know but he didn't want to answer that question. He still had fresh scars that came to life whenever his stepfather was mentioned. "I have no honest idea," he finally replied, lying.
"All right." She replied.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I dislike talking or even thinking about him." Kaiba said, looking over his shoulder at her.
"I know, but you need to face it sometime. I won't ask again but... Did he ever say anything about me at all when you were growing up? I know father used to send him letters..."
"Yeah, Mokuba would be happy, reading those letters when he wasn't supposed to. And yes, I know I need to face it sometime but not today. But I was mainly always kept busy with training so whatever was said to me was probably ignored." he replied, cracking his knuckles to release some stress.
Tamara paled. "Oh no... Dearest Vesta, Goddess of virgins no..." She whispered, horrified.
Kaiba gave her a strange look. "What?"
"Father's language and the topics..." She shuddered. "Never mind."
Deciding not to press for details at the moment, Kaiba shrugged his shoulders. "After he would read those letters, he and our stepfather would often get into arguments over it. It was like World War Three with those two. Our stepfather never raised a hand to Mokuba but it was still bad." Kaiba remembered.
The redhead flinched, looking as though she's been struck, and tears filled her eyes behind her tinted glasses. "Oh Mokuba... I'm so sorry... I didn't know; oh Vesta… I tried so hard…" The words were spoken so softly that he almost couldn't hear them. In a louder voice she said "Kaiba, I know very well that words can cut the soul as bad as any knife, if not worse. Do you know if he still has those letters?"
Kaiba thought for a moment. "He doesn't have them, but I still do. They've been sitting in a folder for years now. I haven't thrown anything out." He crossed the street, brushing people that he didn't know. "I can find the letters if you'd like, after we go back to your apartment. Or I can leave them for later and give them to you if you really want them." he said.
"I want them destroyed. Don't read them, please don't read them..." She said quietly, her heart in her voice. "You really don't want to know what was in them."
"All right," Kaiba said slowly, his curiosity reached yet another peak. "I'll destroy them tonight then." he said, making a mental note to keep one or two aside so he could see what she was talking about.
You could visibly see the tension flowing out of her body, and she even managed a small smile. "Thank you."
He nodded, looking the other way. "Okay, what do we have to do again?" he asked, chuckling.
"We have to go back to the apartment." She reminded him. "I hope you know where we are, because I don't have a clue."
Kaiba laughed, before he suddenly stopped. 'Oh man, this may be a challenge.' He looked back at Tamara. "Of course I know where we are!"
Tamara waited calmly, though she kept an eye on the uniforms and rings he was carrying.
Embarrassed, Kaiba bit his lip. "I don't think I know where we are…" he finally admitted, looking over his shoulder and giving a sheepish smile.
Smiling back, she pulled out that map again, squinting as she hummed to herself.
Kaiba still gave the sheepish smile and walked back to her side and looked at the map as well. He hated being shown up like this but today he couldn't care.
"Okay... I think we turn right at the next light and go up three streets..." She said slowly, frowning in concentration.
He titled his head sideways, trying to figure out where she was at. "Er, maybe I ought to call for my driver?" he suggested, smiling.
"That would be a waste of time, considering my chair." She said. "I think I've got it..."
"Oh yeah, duh." he chuckled again. "But you never know," he tried again, suddenly tired of walking. Sitting for hours in front of a computer wasn't good for him.
"You are lucky that you can walk on your own." She said, putting the map away and starting forward again.
"Yeah, lucky. But can't you still use your crutches to walk sometimes?" he asked.
"How did you know about my crutches?" She demanded, screeching to a halt.
"Er," he stuttered, his face red. "Mokuba."
"Drat that boy! I told him to leave you be! Although I understand how he loves the idea of us marrying... Grr!" She shook her head. A little while later, they could see the apartment building.
Kaiba was confused now. "Uh..." he stumbled over what he wanted to say. "This is a first." he wound up saying, chuckling to himself as he looked at the apartment building in the distance.
The redhead's face was dark now as she rolled beside him and opened the door for him when they reached the building a few minutes later. "I'll talk to him; you have my word on that Mr. Kaiba." There was tightly controlled anger in Tamara's voice now.
All right," he cautiously said, giving a funny look. "He should be home when we get back to the mansion," he said, glancing back down at his watch. "Well, I take that back. He's going to be a friend's house for a while." Kaiba shook his head, smiling.
"I'll talk to him tonight over the phone." She agreed, hitting the button for the elevator.
Kaiba glanced up the hallways, seeing several young girls coming their way. They looked up, caught his gaze as he slid his arm onto Tamara's. They turned away, their gazes hard.
A smirk curved Tamara's lips when the elevator came and they went into it. However, once the door shut, she couldn't help but laugh, The odd gasping sounds she made as she laughed sounded loud in the small space. "Oh... wow..." She finally gasped out. "Goddess be thanked..."
Watching her, Kaiba laughed as well. It was funny, watching those girls react that way to what he did.
"If only the dunderheads that used to torment me in high school could have seen that." She exclaimed as she took off her glasses and wiped her eyes.
"Dunderheads?" Kaiba was confused, but he still laughed.
"The popular girls, cheerleaders and the like, I always called them dunderheads." The redhead explained as she replaced her glasses on her face.
"Ah, now I get it." Kaiba laughed again, smirking widely.
When they got to the third floor, she exited it, having disengaged herself from Kaiba and drove down the hallway in silence.
Kaiba followed a short distance behind, waiting for her to show him to the apartment.
Tamara stopped at the door before undoing the top two buttons of her shirt as she took off a chain from around her neck and unlocked the door for them. The door open, she refastened the chain and went inside, ignoring the key hanging freely between her small breasts.
Silently Kaiba followed her into the small room, his tall frame towering over her (and giving minute glimpses of her breasts). He shut the door behind them, letting his eyes adjust to the room.
Wordlessly, Tamara took the uniforms from him and disappeared down the hall toward her bedroom after gesturing him to take a seat wherever he pleased.
Kaiba sat down on the arm of a couch, waiting. He could faintly hear her in her room. He rose to his feet again, curious. What did their apartment look like now since he left yesterday? He slowly moved towards her room.
The apartment was still rather plain, and there weren't a lot of things scattered about. An open, well-worn copy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet lay facedown on the coffee table with a notebook beside it in Tamara's handwriting. Tamara's duel academy laptop was on the kitchen table next to an open box. As he traveled down the bare hall, only the bathroom and the door to the room Jake had claimed as his office stood open. Unlike yesterday, Tamara's door was now firmly shut, though he could hear her moving around from within.
Bored, Kaiba glanced down the bare hallway. It seemed so lifeless, so incomplete (just like him). He glared at the closed door, pondering a way to open it (for what if she hurt herself by accident while inside?) without her knowing. But nothing came to mind.
A few muttered curses were heard on the other side of the door, before there was silence again. A few minutes that the door unlocked and Tamara opened the door again. She was dressed in a full length simple black velvet dress, and her hair flowed freely like careless molten fire down the back of her wheelchair. When she saw him standing there, she cocked her head slightly at him as though asking "Well?" The redhead wore absolutely no jewelry at all.
Kaiba bit his lips. He'd rather see her with something adorning her neck, or wrist at least. He let out a sigh. "Why don't you wear something nice? One of the rings, maybe?" he politely asked, hoping she would say yes.
Tamara flipped part of her hair over her shoulder. "Later I will, but not for this." She replied turning sideways and pulling on the rope that had been tied to the doorknob after everyone had left so that the redhead could shut her own door before heading to the living room.
"All right," he said, waiting. He followed her into the dull room, glancing around, nervous. "Er, nice place you two have here." he said, snagging a strand of her hair again and twirling it around his finger.
"It'll do for now. There was no sense in getting a house right off the bat." She replied, picking up the black gloves that were in her lap and carefully putting them on. "Would you like me to cut off that lock of hair for you as you seem awfully fond of it Mr. Kaiba?" Tamara asked in a detached tone of voice.
"Ah, no thank you." Kaiba let go of the hair. She was back to calling him Mr. again and it grated his nerves. "Do you have everything then?" he asked, glancing the other way.
"Let me just nip into Jake's office and print those damn directions." She replied, tucking the lock behind her ear and starting to turn around. A few minutes later they were out the door, Tamara looked solemn and sad as she drove her chair down the street.
The long walk between them was in complete silence, as Kaiba's wife seemed draw into herself even more than she had been before. To Kaiba, it looked like she was steeling herself for an event that threatened to tear her apart, something that she was determined not to share with him.
When they finally reached the cemetery, a solemn-faced but still sorrowful Jake was waiting for them at the entrance. He was carrying a dozen red and pink roses. His eyes narrowed in distaste when he saw Kaiba was with Tamara, but other than that, all of his attention was on Tamara.
"Jake," Kaiba said, trying to remain polite to her brother. His eyes glanced over the roses her brother held and he sucked in a breath. "I'll stay out here. It'd be better to let you two go alone," Kaiba already struck up a pose with the nearest light post, looking away from their eyes and hoping his discomfort wouldn't show in his gaze.
Jake nodded curtly and handed the roses to his sister before putting his arm around both her shoulders and leading her away. His head bent down slightly towards his twin, and he was speaking quietly for only his twin's ears. For her part, Tamara seemed to be drawing strength from him, and automatically seemed to adjust her speed to his stride. The close-knit twins were completely welcoming of each other's presence and freely offered support without any discussion between them.
Kaiba huffed, watched the two walk away towards the graves. His heart thumped. This was the same place where his stepfather was buried. He looked away, and leaned against the light post once more. He felt jealous all of a sudden about the twins' closeness and he felt the leap in his mind. Would he and Tamara eventually become that close? Or will he be considered a fly on her wall for a while. His brows knitted downwards, and he ignored the vibrating cell phone in his pants.
It seemed like forever, but suddenly her heard Tamara's voice raised sadly in song:
Fly Away, Fly away
Let your soul soar free
Your chains are now broken
Don't worry, you are free
Let your body rest
Safely in our Mother Earth
While your soul flies away
To the places you had longed to see
Fly Away, Fly away
Let your soul soar free
Your chains are now broken
Don't worry, you are free
The chains are cast away
Now shattered far asunder
Have no worries or concerns
And do not fear for me
Fly Away, Fly away
Let your soul soar free
Your chains are now broken
Don't worry, you are free
We will carry on your hopes
With your light and dreams to guide us
As we spread our growing wings
Please, just be happy wherever you may be
Fly Away, Fly away
Let your soul soar free
Your chains are now broken
Don't worry, you are free
(Repeat 3x, fading on last repeat)
Kaiba cocked his head sideways. Was that her singing? She was good if it was. He smiled to himself and reached into his still buzzing pocket for his cell phone. Mokuba's name flashed on the Missed Calls list and he shut it again. Mokuba could wait another minute as he stood there listening to her sing.
All too soon, her voice faded into silence, and a few minutes later the twins came into view again. Both of their faces stained with tears and talking quietly to each other.
Feeling embarrassed, Kaiba turned his gaze away from them. It was too personal to watch the exchange in public.
The mood was broken when Jake's cell phone rang. Although Jake's hand seemed automatically to go for his phone, Tamara somehow managed a watery smile and answered the unspoken question in her big brother's worried gaze. "Go ahead Jake, I'll be okay and I'll save you some dinner when you come home."
In answer, Jake kissed her gently on the forehead and strode away, muttering to himself as he answered his phone. His sister sighed and came over to Seto. "Thank you for waiting, you didn't have to do that."
"Don't worry about it," he ground out, keeping his eyes off her. He was trying to decide whether to go see the bastard who hurt him and Mokuba but he wasn't sure if he was ready for that just yet. "You asked earlier, about where my stepfather was buried," Kaiba managed to force out, his eyes betraying him and straying over to the cemetery. His chin jerked upwards a centimeter before he closed his eyes, trying to ward off a headache.
"Ah. I wondered. Someone had made arrangements for mother a long time ago, and we didn't know who. Now I know." She said simply. As she spoke, she turned back the way she had come.
Surprised as his mind sorted though what she had just said as well as the possible implications of what that could mean, Kaiba jerked his eyes back to her and stepped in front of her in order to stare into her tear-stained face as his body went hot and cold alternately. He could not believe what he had just heard. All of the warmth that had been slowly kindling throughout the morning vanished in an instant. "My step-father wouldn't have done that for your mother, regardless of what you might think Ms. Fear. " He ground out coldly. "If you were to offer me proof; then I would, of course, reconsider my words." An icy smile settled on his lips as he carefully brushed her hair away from her face before taking her weaker hand in a tight grip. "I'll walk you back home, and then I need to go. After all I can't have you getting lost before I marry you to save my company." With that cold statement, he near dragged her alongside him, never once letting go of her limp hand.
Once he saw her back to her apartment, he went inside with her, walked over to where he had left their rings on the couch and sorted though them. When he found the one the Tamara had chosen as her wedding ring, Seto's hard eyes softened slightly before gently closing the box and slipping it into a pocket. "I'll keep this one for now; I'll need it for when we are married. Until then, wear the other ring you bought."
Only now did he look at her again, smirking when he saw how pale she looked. Straightening, he walked over to her and brushed his lips lightly against her hair in a mock-affectionate gesture. "I would hope that you will find a way make yourself beautiful before I come to collect you to seal the agreement made by our fathers' tomorrow." He said in an icy tone before he walked out, not allowing her to say anything in reply as he slammed the door behind him.