Chapter 40 – Embrace

Slowly opening the bedroom door, she saw the light from the window streaming in onto the bed, illuminating the room and the man that currently resided in it. Seto was sitting along the edge of the bed, his eyes closed and head hanging, a hand clenching his forehead as if in pain. "His symptoms never go away… The reason that he's so cold to the world…" Tea could only stare at the man before her. "Seto is lucky to be alive if what the doctor said was true. I'm finally beginning to truly understand his ways. He'll always remember the past…and he knows it. He never wanted to get close to anyone out of fear of his memories…yet he's the one who tells everyone that the past is for the weak. Is that his way of reminding himself as well?"

"I don't…blame you for not waking me up," he whispered, breaking the silence in the room. Tea felt a blush beginning to appear, realizing she had been idly standing there, and walked around the bed until she was in front of the CEO.

"We couldn't," she remarked. "Mokuba was literally jumping on the bed, and you just laid there."

"I see…"

Tea smiled and kneeled down so that she was in front of his knees. "It's okay, Seto. We called the school and explained what happened. They said that we won't be required to make up the work since it was more than a simple illness that kept you here."

Her smile slowly transformed into a frown as he continued to sit there, his eyes still shut and hand still placed on the side of his face. "Seto…what's wrong?"

His eyes opened to look into hers, and he shook his head. "I… It's nothing."

"Seto…" Reaching forward, she took hold of one of his hands and intertwined her fingers between his. Smiling up at him, she said, "I can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong."

"I told you, it's nothing," he repeated, this time his voice rising in volume slightly as if to make his point. Yet Tea could see past that cold façade he wore in front of the world. She could see clear as day that something was bothering him. The doctor was right; lying to a girlfriend was quite difficult.

But she didn't want to force the answer out of him…not now. She knew it was dangerous to have him keeping his emotions to himself, but she could also understand if he was slightly mentally unstable from the previous night. Letting go of his hand, she stood back up and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him look up at her. She blinked in shock; his eyes radiated with…what emotion was that? Guilt? Worry? Whatever it was, it shook her. The normal blue orbs looked as if they were being swallowed by his black pupils. "He…what's wrong? Does he even really see me, or is he seeing something else?" "I… Get some rest, Seto," she instructed, releasing her grasp on his shoulder. "The doctor told me that you're not allowed to do any work today, and I'm going to make sure that happens."

Smirking down at him, she wanted to cry when he just continued to stare up at her. No smile, no frown… Just his eyes that were full of a passionate emotion she couldn't pinpoint. The rest of his face showed mere indifference. "And he won't tell me what's wrong… No wonder the doctor was nervous about taking him off the stuff. Why did he if Seto is behaving this strangely? Is this…an improvement?!" Tea realized that there was really nothing else she could do, so she turned around and began walking back towards the door. But a sudden noise made her spin back around in surprise only to instantly feel another body against hers.

Seto was now embracing her, his head right next to hers, as his one arm wrapped around her waist, the other resting gently on her back. Taken aback by this sudden motion, she slowly looked over to see his eyes closed, his breathing coming out in short, quick wisps. She didn't know what else to do; she wrapped her own arms around the CEO and placed her head against his shoulder. "Are you…sure you're okay?" she finally asked after a moment or so passed.

"I just… I wanted to make sure you were…alright," he answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I told you, Seto, I'm fine," she said, though she sadly knew that 'alright' was not the correct term. Somehow or other, she had the feeling the CEO just wanted to make sure she was really here. His eyes reflected how in-touch he was with what was going on. Placing a hand on his cheek, she turned his face so that he was facing her and smiled at him. "I'm okay, and hopefully you will be soon too."

He just stared at her, searching her face for something that she didn't know. She watched as his eyes slowly went from their dilated, almost glazed over, state to their normal, lovely blueness. After another minute or so passed, he let out a long sigh and brought her closer to him, his hand that had rested on her back now playing with her hair. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice back to normal volume.

"For what?" she asked.

"For worrying you so much. For hiding so much from you. For being…"

"Seto, stop blaming yourself," she stated as she began to rub his back. "You only did what you thought was right. Nobody should be punished for that. We're together to protect each other, to care for each other. That's what…that's what people do when they love each other, Seto."

"Love… So you do really love me?"

Tea's eyes widened at this question. "Of course I do," she replied. "I wouldn't be standing here right now if I didn't."

She watched out of the corner of her eye as he looked over at her before planting a light kiss on her cheek. "I wasn't sure…whether or not this was serious, so I didn't know if you actually wanted to listen to me spilling my secrets out. I never understood the concept of carrying another's burden, but…if we're going to be together…"

Closing her eyes, Tea rested her head against his chest and smiled. "I'll always be here for you, Seto. I'm not going anywhere. Just know that if you need to talk to somebody, I'm right here."

"You're not…" She could feel the CEO tense up and blinked in surprise.

"What? What's wrong?"

"You aren't going anywhere?" It was the mixture of a whisper and a plea.

"No, Seto… I'm not going anywhere. As long as you're here to protect me, I'll be fine."

"You trust me that much?"

"After last night, of course I do. You put me before yourself; that deserves my respect and trust."

"Tea... I can't be trusted like that."

This made Tea frown and stare up at Seto, who was also frowning down at her. "Why not?"

"Because… I'm not good at protecting others."

"Then what did you call last night?"

"Why do you think Sophie died?" he suddenly asked, making Tea blink in surprise.

"I… I don't…"

"I let her die, Tea," he whispered as he hung his head once more. "I don't want the same thing to happen to you. I don't want you getting hurt or killed… You don't deserve that. You shouldn't trust me with your life. I… I've never been good at protecting others. You've seen the lengths I've had to go to in order to save those I loved, but… It all ends in failure. I was caught by Pegasus. I was trapped by not only my own corporation, but my step-father. And I let…I let Sophie…"

Tea grabbed the CEO's chin and made him look directly into her eyes. "You listen here," she stated in a cold voice, making his eyes widen in surprise. "You saved me last night, and I've witnessed on more than one occasion you risk your own life for the sake of somebody else, whether you cared for them or not. You didn't fail, Seto; you did what you thought was right. You have a big heart, but you hide it from everyone including yourself. I don't know what happened to Sophie, but you are not the reason she died, no matter what you tell yourself. I owe you my life, and I will trust you with it whether you like it or not. You need to realize that you mean everything to me, Seto Kaiba, and that I love you more than anybody else on this planet, and that means I will do whatever it takes to take care of you!" Placing her forehead against his chest, she felt tears begin to surface and said, "I don't want you back on that medication, Seto. I don't want you depressed, unhappy… Please don't put yourself down like this. You mean everything to a lot more people than you understand."

Feeling his grip loosen on her, she slowly looked up to see him smiling down at her. He gently moved some of her hair behind her ear before letting his hand slide down her cheek. She merely stood and watched his facial expression as his lips began to quiver slightly into a smile. "You… You're not going anywhere. I promise."

Tea smiled widely. "That's the Seto I know."

"I just… I thought you were gone."

"What? Why?"

"I dreamt last night…that what happened to Sophie…happened to you." His grip retightened around her, and he gently pressed his forehead against hers so that he was looking directly into her eyes, yet his smile remained. "And then…when I woke up to Dr. Kelan, I thought that it really happened. He assured me you were all right, but I wasn't sure if he was lying or not. I'm glad… I'm glad that he wasn't." Closing his eyes, he shivered and whispered, "I couldn't take that again."

"Gun violence…his depression and anxiety attacks…" Tea nodded her head in understanding. "I will be here for you," she repeated. "I'm not going anywhere."

Letting go of her, he searched her eyes once more before smiling, turning back around, and walking towards the bed. Sitting back down on the edge, he crawled towards the center of the bed, closed his eyes, and let out a sigh. Tea went to say something when they both heard a knock on the door. "Hey, are you two in there?"

Seto smiled and called out, "You can come in, Mokuba." The door opened, and the younger Kaiba walked in and smiled at the sight of his brother. "I thought you had gone back to sleep," he stated as he walked towards the middle of the room. "I want to be the first to congratulate you on having no more medication!"

"Sorry, but she beat you to it," he replied, pointing over at Tea before lying down on his back. Mokuba pretended to pout as he looked over at her.

"Well then I'll be the second!" he countered, running over to the bed and crawling next to his brother. "How is your head feeling, Seto?"

"It…hurts."

"Well, duh!"

Seto smirked and rolled his head over so that he was facing Mokuba and her. "I should be alright by tomorrow, though. I just need to rest right now."

Mokuba's eyes widened in shock. "You're actually admitting you have to rest? What did that doctor do to you?!"

Both Tea and Seto laughed at his outburst, and Seto closed his eyes and shook his head. "I just want to get better, is all. Is that a bad thing?"

"No, but…you're known for pushing yourself too hard."

"I'll be okay Mokuba," Seto insisted. "I think I'm going to take a nap for now, okay? Make sure I'm up by dinnertime. I don't know how long I'll be asleep, and I want to eat dinner with you guys."

"Okay, Big Brother." Mokuba slid off the bed and walked out of the room, but not before smiling widely up at Tea.

"Proof that Seto really is changing…" she thought as she turned and went to leave as well. That is, until she heard Seto's voice behind her.

"Tea, wait," he quickly said, grabbing her attention and making her turn to face him. He was staring up at the ceiling now, and she watched as his eyes slowly closed. "I don't want you to go."

Parting her lips but finding nothing to say, Tea nodded her head in understanding and walked over towards the bed, sitting down next to him and grasping his hand. "I'm here…"

She watched a smile slowly form before he whispered, "I know you are." All she could do was watch and wait until his breathing became heavy, his hand lifeless, and his face tranquil, indicating he was fast asleep.

"Seto… Maybe the doctor was right. You're realizing that you can't rely on yourself all the time, aren't you? You know that you can do this, Seto. I believe in you." Letting go of his hand, she slowly stood up and thought, "We all believe in you. Only you don't believe in yourself."