When Téa woke up the next morning, she smiled as she felt something warm pressed against her back. She decided to embrace the feeling until her mind registered that Seto wasn't supposed to be home for 2 more days. She jumped up and screamed.

Kaiba's eyes flew open and he was ready to attack. He looked to Téa to see where the danger was but found she was looking at him. "What?" he asked.

She stuttered, "I…I wasn't expecting you to b…be back for another two days. I just panicked when I felt someone i…in bed with me."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and said, "It's nice to see you too."

Mokuba then bust through the door. "Téa, are you alright?" She nodded and Mokuba then noticed his brother next to her. "Big brother," he squealed with glee as he ran up to embrace Seto. Seto smiled and rustled Mokuba's hair. "We made you a surprise Seto," Mokuba said as he ran to retrieve the T-shirt.

While they waited for Mokuba to return, Seto looked over Téa. She was wearing a beautiful red silk nightgown. She looked flawless…almost. That was when he saw the purple hand print marring her creamy skin. He walked closer to her and gently held the wounded arm to get a better look.

She looked up at him fearfully…What was she going to tell him? She didn't want to tell him what happened and she especially didn't want him to know who did it. Was he going to be angry if she didn't tell him? To her surprise, Seto mumbled, "I am going to kill Yugi for doing this to you."

Téa shrunk back and asked, "H…how did you know?"

He gently rubbed his thumb across the sensitive skin, causing Téa to flinch in response. He let go of her arm and replied, "I saw a video of the attack on television. That is why I came home early."

"Y…you came back because of me?" She asked hesitantly.

Before he could answer, Mokuba came in holding the shirt they had made for him. Kaiba looked at the tie dyed blue shirt and noticed a dragon patch on the pocket. Mokuba said, "We made ourselves one and Téa mentioned that you might want one too. So, we actually bought 2 tie dye kits. But, all we needed was 1."

Kaiba then remembered the promise he made to Isabelle and said, "Mokuba, you're a genius! Do you think you could get me the tie dye kit later?"

Both Téa and Mokuba looked at him like he grew a third arm. "Sure big brother," Mokuba said looking incredibly confused. Before things could get weirder Téa slipped out the door to go help the chef with breakfast.

Seto left for work shortly after breakfast. If he went now, he could finish all of his work by noon.

When he did arrive home he suggested Mokuba grab the tie dye kit so they could dye the suits.

He went through the house to search for Téa, and found her reading a book in his home office. She was lounging on the sofa with a blanket holding a novel. He knocked on the side of the door to capture her attention. She jumped and said, "I am shouldn't be in here, I am sorry."

She started to dart past him when he said, "You are welcome to use the library in here. I don't mind." He then picked up the book she dropped trying to escape his presence and said, "Mokuba and I are going to go tie dye some suits. Do you want to come help?"

She took the book that he was handing her and shook her head, "I am tired today. I think I will just stay in…You're not going to start wearing tie dyed suits? Are you?"

He started to laugh and replied, "Of course not, I am…." He stopped, he couldn't tell Téa that he was trying to get back at Isabelle for taking advantage of her. Téa didn't even know that she was manipulated. He finished, "I am just pulling a prank on Isabelle. I won't even be wearing the suits."

Téa nodded in understanding and sat back down on the couch to read her book.

Seto met Mokuba on the front lawn. "Is she coming?" Mokuba asked.

Seto shook his head and replied, "I get the feeling that she is avoiding me."

Mokuba shook his head and answered she is not avoiding you, she is scared. Mokuba pulled out his cellphone and said, "While at Yugi's I snuck a video of her talking to her friends. I think you should see it before you start jumping to conclusions."

…Video (if you don't remember it)

"Look guys, I know you all are worried about me. But, you should know that I can take care of myself. The Kaiba brothers have been treating me extremely well and I think you all are worrying about nothing. And, pertaining to your question of how I feel about Kaiba…I don't know. The truth is, ever since my mom and dad sold me, to pay for their debt, I am having issues trusting anyone. There are times when my mind even gets cautious around you guys. It is nothing personal, I am just scared of getting hurt or abandoned again."

Joey retorted, "Téa, you know that you don't have to worry about us doing something like that."

The look in Téa's eyes was almost unbearable to look at. There was so much pain, distrust, and anger. "Really Joey, and let's just say that Kaiba and I do get married. After all, I am wearing an engagement ring." She held up her ring to make a point and continued, "If things do work out and we decide to get married, will you attend the wedding? Would you want to spend time with us during the holidays? And let's say that we have a child together. Would you attend the child's birthday parties? Tell me Joey, if things work out, would you be able to handle that we might not be able to hang out as much because I am going to be responsible for caring for a family."

Joey was silent and Téa decided that she had an answer. She got up to leave and Tristan grabbed her arm, "Joey might not be able to speak right now, but of course we would still be friends with you. No one here is particularly happy that you are engaged to him. But, none of us really had the chance to adjust. This is a big change Téa and if this is what makes you happy we will all respect it. Besides, although we may not care for Kaiba's personality all that much, we do know that he would do anything to protect his family."

Téa smiled and wiped a stray Téar. She hugged Tristan and said, "Thank you for understanding." Téa looked at the clock and saw it was almost time to meet with the dress designer. She bowed to them all and said, "It was nice to see you guys, but I have to go. Let Mokuba know that I am going home."

…end of video

Seto then remembered last night how she whispered, "Please…Don't leave me." He wasn't sure how to handle the whole situation so he remained silent and waited to see what Mokuba had to say.

"I think you leaving without saying goodbye is why she is so upset right now." Mokuba explained.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow and said, "I left her a note."

Mokuba shook his head and replied, "Téa is feeling just like we did after our relatives used our trust funds and threw us in the orphanage. She is afraid to trust anyone. The only difference is, she is a social creature and you never were much of a people's person. So right now she is not only afraid to trust people, but she is also afraid to be alone. You always had me, so in that sense it was easier. When you didn't say good bye I am willing to bet that reignited her fear."

Kaiba thought to himself, 'holy crap that makes sense. He looked at his brother skeptically and asked "When the hell did you get so smart?"

Mokuba giggled and said, "Simple, I talked to "MAI" psychologist."

Seto rolled his eyes. Mai was studying psychology in school and Mokuba was constantly calling her to find out what she learned in school. Kaiba was pretty sure that was what Mokuba wanted to be when he grew up.

Now that the suits were done. Kaiba hung them up and looked down at his hands. They now were dyed multiple colors and he looked like he just successfully murdered Rainbow Brite (I don't own this character).

He went inside to wash his hands and was not surprise to find that the dye would not come off. As he exited the bathroom, he accidentally crashed into Tea. He helped her up and asked, "Téa, would you like to go out to eat something tonight? I know you aren't feeling great, but I figure that a meal at your favorite restaurant might be just the thing to make you feel better."

She smiled softly and answered, "That sounds nice. Is Luigi's good enough for you?"

He nodded and said, "Meet us downstairs when you get dressed."

When Téa came down the stairs, she was wearing a white eyelet sundress. The dress was had a halter top so to prevent her bruise from showing she wore a white sweater with it.

The restaurant was a simple family business. There were wooden picnic tables inside and signed records hanging on the wall of famous people like Andrea Bocelli. The music was playing softly in the background and a beautiful waitress seated them.

Téa looked at the waitress in silent envy. The waitress was everything she wasn't blonde, petite, model thin, and tan. Her makeup and attire gave her an exotic appearance. She could definitely tell, that both the Kaiba brothers noticed. It didn't help matters when she showed so much cleavage. Suddenly this trip to her favorite restaurant turned depressing. She placed three glasses and three menus on the table.

Téa had seen the waitress several times before with Yugi, Joey, and Tristan and knew how they reacted. But it never bothered her with them. But it made her extremely insecure around Seto. Unconsciously, she started to play with her engagement ring.

Kaiba was in fact paying too much attention to the waitress. He didn't realize it until he saw Téa fidgeting across from him. Instantly, he turned to Téa and asked, "What is good to eat here?"

Mokuba ran off to play a gumball machine and Téa mumbled, "You mean besides the waitress."

Kaiba was in the middle of drinking when he heard the comment and started to choke. "Did you seriously make a sex joke?"

Téa's eyes got big when she realized what she said and her face turned red in embarrassment. Not knowing how to fix this she replied, "No, actually I think that was a quip, but the lasagna is good."

Kaiba scratched the back of his head awkwardly and said, "I think I need something to drink. Do you want anything?"

Téa put her head in her hands and said, "That sounds wonderful."

When the waitress returned for their orders, Mokuba returned to the table with a big shiny gumball. Kaiba handed her their menus and said, "My fiancé and I would like two orders of lasagna and a bottle of white wine."

He then looked over to Mokuba. Mokuba smiled and said, "I want nuggets and sprite!"

The whole table started to laugh at Mokuba's selection and the waitress wrote it down. "Coming right up," she said with a chuckle.

When the waitress left, Mokuba asked, "Téa, can I ask you a question?"

'You just did,' she thought to herself. She replied, "Sure kiddo, what's on your mind?"

Mokuba looked down at his hands. He was afraid to make eye contact with her while he asked, "Why did you agree to marry my brother?" Both Téa and Seto looked up in surprise and Mokuba continued, "It is not that I don't want you to, or anything. I would love to have you as part of our family. I just don't know what made you decide to get together. You two never seemed to like each other in the past and I want to know what changed?"

Téa looked up at Seto trying to see if he wanted her to tell Mokuba the full story or not. Kaiba nodded and Tea whispered, "A couple of weeks ago my parents got into trouble. Their trouble pushed me into a life threatening situation. My friends found out about it and asked Seto for help. When Seto decided to help me, I agreed to help him in return by becoming his wife." Mokuba's face looked saddened. She could tell he was wondering why they wouldn't agree to marry based on love. She explained, "Marriage isn't just about love Mokuba. It is also about survival. You will understand this better, when you get older."

Mokuba nodded and looked over to see the waitress carrying their food back to the table. "Finally," he grumbled.

Despite the awkward moments, the dinner was nice. Kaiba was about to pay when he saw Téa's start to panic. He turned to where she was looking at and saw Yugi waiting to be seated with Joey and Tristan. Kaiba threw his credit card on the table and said, "Stay here."

He walked up behind Yugi, grabbed his arm, and held him in the air. "What the hell Kaiba?!" Yugi screamed as he struggled to break free. Joey and Tristan tried to pull Kaiba off; but, Kaiba was too angry to let go. Téa squeaked in fear. She ran up to try to stop Seto.

She pushed past Joey and Tristan who were attacking Kaiba at this point and said, "Please Seto, let him go…This isn't right."

He looked over to Téa and said, "No, what is not right is for a grown man to try to persuade an engaged woman to cheat on her betrothed. What's even worse is when that grown man attacks her when she refuses his advances. Isn't that right Yugi?"

Tristan stopped his attack and asked, "What are you talking about Kaiba?"

Kaiba looked Yugi in the eyes and said, "Yes Yugi, what on earth am I talking about?"

Yugi ignored his question and looked down in shame. Seeing that Yugi wasn't going to answer, Kaiba commanded, "Show them, Téa."

She shook her head and said, "Please Seto, just drop it. Leave Yugi alone.

Mokuba ran up to Seto and said, "Please big brother, the staff is about to call the cops."

"Show them!" Kaiba shouted.

Téa let out a sigh and took off her sweater. All three boys gasped in surprise. "D…Did I really d...do that Téa?" Yugi asked in shock.

Téa nodded and joey screamed, "Yugi, when I told you to act more aggressive, I didn't mean for you to attack Tea."

"You put him up to this?" Téa asked angrily.

Joey knew that face meant business and said, "I meant for him to act more manly…I wanted him to lift weights, chew some tobacco, or something. I didn't expect him to try to hurt you."

The expression on Téa's face was pure heart break. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She turned to Seto and said, "They know, now let him go and let's get out of here."

"Fine," he said as he dropped Yugi on the ground. Mokuba and Téa walked out the door and when they turned, Kaiba punched Yugi in the nose. "That is for kissing my fiancé you worthless piece of shit." He then walked out the door leaving Yugi bleeding profusely on the ground.

Yugi, Joey, and Tristan were asked to leave the restaurant by the restaurant's manager. When they arrived back at the game shop, grandpa Motou ran out the shop because he saw Yugi bleeding. "Yugi, what happened?"

"I'll explain when we get inside," Yugi said in annoyance.

Once they all sat down Yugi explained everything that happened the other day and how it all led up to his now bleeding nose. Once he was finished, Grandpa Motou shook his head and said, "I have never been more ashamed of you, Yugi."

Tristan was furious with both Yugi and Joey, "How could you two possibly have thought that would work. Are you both braindead?" Tristan stormed out the shop and was determined to apologize to Téa. Despite the lack of participation in their scheme.

Yugi and Joey looked at each other, both were plagued with guilt and sadness.

When Téa got home she immediately climbed up the stairs and slammed the door behind her. Mokuba was upset and begged Seto to apologize. Kaiba refused to apologize. As far as he was concerned he had nothing to apologize for. He followed her up the stairs and went to open the door. To his surprise the door was locked.

He knocked on the door and said, "Open up Téa!"

"No!" she screamed back.

He was surprised by her tone of voice and said, "Open this door or…"

"Or what?" she questioned, "Are you going to punch me like you did Yugi?"

"No, of course not. Now open this door!" he yelled back. She refused once more and he asked, "If you don't let me in, where am I going to sleep?"

She snorted and answered, "On the floor, like any dog!"

Kaiba growled and walked down the stairs and out the front door. He walked over to the side of his house and climbed up a tree to jump onto the balcony. He opened the balcony door and walked right into his room.

Téa gasped in both surprise and fear. "Now do you want to talk?" he asked.

She threw a pillow at his head and said, "Not particularly. Now, go away."

Seeing that he had no intentions to let her be. She got up to leave but Kaiba pulled her back onto the bed. He straddled her, pinned her down, and replied, "No, I think now is a perfect time to talk."

She was furious, she tried to pull her wrist from his grasp, but he tightened them slightly more. He applied enough pressure to hold her still, but not enough to actually hurt her. Once she finished squawking at him she let out a sigh and said, "Fine, speak."

He let go of her wrist, but remained in front of her. He asked, "What the hell are you so mad about? Yugi deserved everything he got today. He never should have hurt you and he certainly never should have forced you into a kiss. He has no respect for me or our future marriage. Tell me, what did I do wrong here?"

" You forced me to show my bruise. You told practically everyone in that restaurant what he did to me. I didn't want anyone to know what happened because it is embarrassing. You don't know what it is like to feel weak and vulnerable. You don't know what it is like to feel unable to defend yourself. Even now, you are doing everything you can to make me feel weak." She answered.

He moved off of her and sat next to her on the bed. "You're wrong," he said, "I would never purposely do anything to make you feel inferior, because I know exactly how it feels to be defenseless." He started to put his walls up and finished, "I do not wish to discuss this further."

He got up and walked towards the door. Téa's eyes filled with concern and she ran after him. She grabbed his wrist and said, "Please, don't leave me." He stopped and turned to face her. She continued, "I know things are rocky between us. But I do want to go into this marriage with no secrets. Please tell me what you mean when you said, 'I know how it feels to be defenseless.' Did someone hurt you?"

"Yes," he replied, "But, it is over now. I do not wish to relive that part of my life. So, please just leave it in the past."

She then wrapped her arms around his neck and sat her head on his chest. As she listened to his heart beat she whispered, "Fine, from this moment on, we will focus only on things that are happening now and in the future."

He reached his hand towards her chin and lowered his lips onto hers. She gasped in surprise and he slipped his tongue in. Before she knew what was happening, her tongue danced with his and she felt something she had never felt before; she felt loved.