Chapter nine:

A Silver Lining

It was raining buckets as Mokuba stared out the limousine window. He was waiting patiently for his brother to return from the coffee house but was just now starting to get impatient. What was taking Seto so long anyway? He sighed quietly to himself as he traced the letters of his name along the frosted glass.

Meanwhile (coffee shop)

Tea stared up at Kaiba, a perplexed expression on her face. What the heck was he doing here? She spared a quick glance at Yami sitting silently at the opposite end of the table. From his vacant yet livid expression he was obviously just as confused about why Kaiba was standing there as she was and then some.

She directed her attention to Kaiba once again, his trademark of a smirk never left his face but she noticed an undeniably dangerous glint in his eye. Something was definitely wrong.

Not knowing exactly what she should do or say next she stared at him expectantly, silently demanding an explanation.

But before another puzzled assumption could enter her mind, the sound of Yami's voice broke into the uncomfortable silence, shattering the tension and replacing it with something worse….enmity.

"What the hell are you doing here Kaiba?"

Kaiba responded as if he had come prepared for just such a welcome.

"Since when is my business any of yours?"

The acid dripping from his words was as lethal as venom.

"And what business could you possibly have here?"

The rain continued its relentless downpour outside, adding to the intense cold between them.

Kaiba took a cool sip of his latte as he diverted his gaze to Tea, making her cringe.

"Not that it's any of your concern, but I'm here to see my secretary."

Tea's eyes widened slightly as she stared up at him.

What? Here to see her? But……Why? Was she in some kind of trouble? Had she done something wrong? Her thoughts were going a million miles an hour.

She pried her eyes away to look at Yami……… he was staring back at her as if he were waiting for some kind of an explanation……a good one at that.

Kaiba kept his eyes locked on her, hoping that she would at least say something to him….anything. But she looked as though she was at a loss for words.

He studied her expression closely, she was agitated, and he could tell that it wasn't entirely because of him.

He grit his teeth, silently trying to gain control of his anger. He had to struggle to keep himself from grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out of her seat. He spared a glance at Yami, feeling his temper rising not giving a damn about the reasons why. All he wanted at that moment was to get her out of there.

But how the hell was he supposed to do that without looking like a complete psycho?

He decided that he would just have to use his intuition …… He was Seto Kaiba after all.

Yami was still staring at Tea, obviously waiting for her to say something.

When she didn't respond, he snatched the opportunity to speak.

"Your secretary?... Listen Kaiba, just because Tea works for you now, doesn't mean that you can……"

Kaiba didn't give him the chance to finish.

"….Why don't you shut up and stay out of matters that don't concern you."

Yami's expression immediately shifted, Kaiba's brashness catching him completely off guard.

"What the hell? Listen you arrogant fool, don't you think for one second that you can just…."

"……..I can do what ever I want, and right now I have business with Gardner, so I suggest you stay out of it!"

Yami's eyes were pools of fire as he glared at Kaiba.

"What ever business you have with her can wait…."

"Actually it can't wait, and I didn't come here to listen to the likes of you!"

What in the world was going on here? Tea was at a loss for words as she looked at them both. She felt the rivalry between the two and couldn't help feeling particularly nervous. She didn't understand……. why was Kaiba acting this way? What was it that was so important?

She decided to intervene before the situation got any more out of hand

"Wait, hold on Yami……"

She looked up at Kaiba, real concern in her clouded eyes.

"What is it that you want Kaiba, I mean ,I don't usually work on Sundays."

She made sure to keep her tone under control; she didn't want to betray her feelings to either of them.

Luckily Kaiba was more than quick on the uptake, he fabricated the most plausible reason he could think of.

"There's some last minute paperwork I need you to take care of before we leave tomorrow. It's important that I get it done today. I can't afford to put it off for a whole two weeks."

Kaiba kept his eyes glued to hers, holding her gaze and making sure that she understood just how serious he was

Tea felt a sudden case of nausea at the pit of her stomach as she looked over at Yami. He was already glaring suspiciously at them.

He folded his arms, and looked directly at Tea, a serious and not to mention intimidating expression on his face.

"……..Did I miss something here….are you two…….going somewhere?"

Tea stared back at him feeling even more nervous than before. Oh no, now he was going to find out about the trip tomorrow. Definitely not good…. knowing Yami, he wasn't going to take this lightly.

But wait, maybe there was someway she could change the subject….no…….. that would look way too obvious. Great; She sighed inwardly…….why did Kaiba have to say that?

She opened her mouth to speak but Kaiba beat her to the task.

"I don't think that's any of your business brush head."

Tea looked up to see Kaiba glaring dangerously at Yami. His response was laced with acid.

Yami returned the look of disdain, retaliation written as plain as day on his perplexed face……but instead of responding to Kaiba he turned his attention to Tea, who was looking a bit frightened.

"Tea……could you please explain what the hell is going on here?"

He was obviously trying to keep his tone under control.

Tea clenched her purse weakly, she felt the pressure and she hated it……..what the heck was she supposed to say? Was she supposed to just tell him the truth? If she did, there would be no telling how he would react.

What was wrong with her? Why did she even care anyway?

"There's nothing going on Yami…….its just, we…… I mean…I….."

Kaiba intervened before she could say anything further.

"If you must know…….I'm taking her to the Ocean view Tomorrow………."His eyes flashed evasively, an evil smirk gracing his face…..

"Call it……….a business trip if you will."

Tea couldn't believe what she was hearing. What the heck was Kaiba thinking? Why on earth did he say that? Sure, what he said was technically……….the truth……….. But for one thing, he made it sound as if they were………..as if they were involved or something…….…and secondly he should have known better than to say anything at all in the first place.

She reluctantly forced herself to look at Yami.

He looked as though someone had just thrown cold water over his head.

"What the hell? The ocean view?"

"That's what I said genius, you got a problem with that?"

Yami looked over at Tea, who was biting her lip nervously

"Tea is this true?"

Tea braced herself for the worst.

"Um, Well it's……..it's really not that big of a deal Yami…….it's just……..business."

Kaiba stared at her as she spoke, his anger building steadily, why the hell was she explaining her self to that asshole? they weren't an item anymore, so why was she so damn nervous about him finding out about their trip tomorrow.

"Tea you can't be serious…is there something going on between you two, I think I have a right to know!"

His voice was harsh and bitter with anger.
"….No there isn't anything going on…….I told you its just business."

"Business? Yea… I'm sure."

His sarcasm cut through her like a knife.

He folded his arms angrily, clearly trying to contain his temper.

He turned his attention to Kaiba, a seriously devious look on his face.

"You really are the snake everyone makes you out to be Kaiba."

"Hmph, then I'm more like you than I realize."

Kaiba kept his tone level, but dangerously sharp.

An uncomfortable silence fell over them again.

Kaiba felt his anger growing and he knew that it would only get worse from there. Damn it, why was she acting as if she had to explain herself to him. And why the hell was she even with him in the first place? He wasn't 100 percent sure, but from the way she had broken down in his car the other night, he could tell that Yami was the reason she seemed so depressed lately.

He grit his teeth, the thought of punching Yami square in the jaw popping into his head again………….a welcoming thought no doubt …..But unfortunately that would be pushing it a bit too far on his part…………….at least for now anyway.

Kaiba's patience had just about run out. It was time to get her out of there NOW.

"Let's go Gardner; I've wasted enough of my time here already!"

Yami was clearly losing his cool. He looked at Tea, who was obviously too busy staring at Kaiba to notice him glaring at her. He studied them both as an old suspicion reared itself to the surface again. There was definitely something else going on here, something buried under this little charade.

Yami didn't give Tea the chance to respond.

"Look Kaiba... She's busy; she's not going with you!"

"I don't believe anyone was talking to you!"

Yami wasn't one to lose his head but Kaiba had a way of bring out the worst in people…….

Yami immediately stood up from his seat, fire in his eyes

"Don't make me repeat myself Kaiba; SHE'S NOT GOING WITH YOU!"

"And don't make me say the same thing twice….stay out of matters that don't concern you!!"

Listen you arrogant bastard, she's not going anywhere, got it!"
"I'm her boss and I say she's coming with me, and I'd keep my mouth shut about it if I were you!"

By now the handful of people in the coffee shop were staring apprehensively at them.

Tea looked around nervously feeling traces of heat rushing up to her face. This was getting way out of hand. If she didn't do something fast, there's no telling where this could end up. Both Kaiba and Yami were glaring dangerously at each other, neither showing any sign of backing off.

"…….Wait, stop it you two…….."

Both sets of eyes were focused on her now, making her cringe under the sudden pressure. Great now what? Was she supposed to just get up and go with Kaiba or stay here with Yami? She thought about it carefully. If she stayed with Yami she could risk losing her job and she'd obviously be forced into an argument about the trip tomorrow, he'd never let her hear the end of it……..which would obviously lead to an emotional train wreck… something that she definitely didn't need. She sighed inwardly, there was just too much at risk if she stayed…... Yami wasn't going to take this very well, she knew. It bothered her that she cared... but for some reason she did, his power over her was still undeniably strong. She braced herself for what was coming.

"I………Yami, I'm sorry but I have certain responsibilities to Kaiba now, please understand………I have to go with him."

Yami was obviously shocked at her response. He stared at her, not knowing exactly what he should say next.

Kaiba couldn't help feeling smug; he knew that she would have had to agree sooner or later, his task there was practically done.

"Hmph took you long enough Gardner, come on, let's go."
Yami smiled bitterly, shaking his head slightly as he stood up from his seat, His eyes averted to Tea's, cold and void, bitter with disgust.

"I thought you were smart enough not to get caught up in his bullshit, Tea…."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking away from the table. He glanced at them over his shoulder, fire in his eyes

"This isn't over Tea, not by a long shot."

Tea couldn't hold his stare, she pried her eyes away. She could tell by his tone that he was dead serious.

Kaiba stared daggers after him as he walked out of the coffee shop.

He turned his attention to Tea, who was still sitting down, she looked a bit frightened and upset by what Yami had said to her just now. His anger grew considerably. Who the hell did that asshole think he was? If he thought he was getting anywhere near her again he was sadly mistaken.

Everyone around them were still staring nervously at them, but neither seemed to notice or care.

"Humph……. that was a complete waste of my time."

Tea looked up at him with weary eyes sighing with defeat as she stood up.

"I thought I finished everything Friday afternoon Kaiba, what exactly do you need to get done?"

Kaiba wasn't exactly sure what he should say to her, his little story about 'important paperwork' was nothing but a spur of the moment lie. Should he let her know his true motives? He couldn't exactly decide, but he was a bit too angry at the whole situation to care about anything else.

"Correct me if I'm wrong……..but I thought you two were over?"
Tea narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"….We are……."
"Then what the hell were you doing with him?"

"Excuse me? I don't believe that's any of your business Kaiba."

"It's my business to make sure you're ok for the trip tomorrow, its no secret the kind of effect that asshole has on you and I can't have you backing out of the trip tomorrow because of him……Mokuba is counting on you being there, and I'll be damned if you disappoint him."

That wasn't exactly true, he knew, but he needed to at least have a plausible enough reason to excuse his actions. She would be mad at him either way.

"Effect on me? And just what kind of effect does Yami have on me?"

Kaiba heard the distress in her voice and knew all too well that this could get out of hand, if he didn't say the right thing. But he also knew that she needed to hear the truth, she might not like it, but he was willing to take the bashing for it.

"You know damn well what effect Gardner, you think I don't notice! It's so damn obvious that he's nothing but bad news for you."

"What?...you have absolutely no right to tell me what's good and what's bad for me……My life is none of your god damn business Kaiba."

Tea glared at him, the hurt in her eyes more visible than she realized.

Oh Great……Guilt………that's all he needed.

So that's what this was all about, Kaiba was just trying to get her away from Yami... In other words, sticking his nose in where it didn't belong.

She couldn't believe that he had actually sunk that low, to actually use her job as a crutch for his little game. She grabbed her purse and started walking ahead of him toward the door.

Tea stepped out of the shop, Kaiba close behind. She folded her arms as she peered through the rain, not seeing anything. She was upset and she wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it either. They both stood under the small shelter of the rooftop ridges above them, neither saying a word to the next. Kaiba spared a quick glance at her standing next to him. He silently reassured his himself ……, he had gotten her away from Yami……..that's all that mattered. She was mad at him but it was a price he was willing to pay for her. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He whipped it open and pressed a single button with his thumb.

"Mokuba, tell John to drive up to the entrance, I'm done here"

With that said he flipped the phone shut and shoved it back into his pocket, not saying another word.

Tea could tell by his tone that he was somewhat angry about the situation as well. But why? Why was he getting so involved in her life? It wasn't his place or his responsibility and yet he was acting as if it was. This wasn't the Kaiba she knew back at school. He was different.

Part of her was grateful to him for getting her out of a sticky spot with Yami but the other part of her felt ...angry. But should she really feel that way? He was only trying to help after all, wasn't he? But she knew that her feelings ran deeper than that, she wasn't mad at the fact that he tried to help her, she was mad at the fact that he made her feel weak and not to mention stupid. He had no right interfering like that, he didn't understand the situation, she wanted to deal with it on her own, the way she was used to dealing with everything else in her life…….but he made her feel inadequate, a feeling she despised above all others.

Kaiba tried his best to pry his mind away from the girl standing next to him but to his annoyance he found that he couldn't. It bothered him that she was so upset, and it was really starting to bother him that he actually cared. Just what the hell was happening to him? Had he actually done what he just did? Was he losing his mind? Since when did he act on mere impulse? As the black limo pulled up in front of them his foul mood returned, this time worse than before.

Mokuba hurriedly opened the door as Tea scrambled inside.

"Hey Tea……."

"Hi, Mokuba."

Tea didn't even look at him, she scrambled into the limo and took a seat right next to him, she kept her eyes averted to the floor, barley even flashing a smile. She rubbed her arms and tucked some of her wet hair behind her ears. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Seconds later Kaiba had crawled into the other side of the limo, his hair soaking wet, some of it falling over his eyes and covering his expression. Mokuba sensed that something was wrong, but he knew better than to let his curiosity get the better of him. Something obviously happened between Tea and his brother, but he had no clue what. Should he say something? By the looks of it, it was serious, but did that mean their vacation trip was off? He looked at his shoes with a worried expression; he was really looking forward to the trip tomorrow. He decided to take a chance at saying something.

"Um …so Tea, have you packed for the trip yet?" He was smiling brightly at her, hoping to get a positive answer. She turned to look at him, she managed a small smile. What should she say to him? after this little incident, the idea of spending a whole two weeks with Kaiba had even less appeal than it did before…….but as she continued looking at him, the distress in her heart seemed to be slowly melting away.

"Well almost, I still have a few things to pack away though."

He smiled warmly at her, relieved to hear her sounding more like her old self again……and he was glad that their vacation trip was still on too.

The limo came to an abrupt stop at the front of Tea's apartment building. The rain was still pouring heavily outside, with no sign of stopping. Tea grabbed up her purse and turned to Mokuba, a small smile on her face.

"Bye Mokuba, I'll see you tomorrow ok.……"

"…Wait Tea…."

He reached into the small compartment at the bottom of one of the seats, pulling out an expensive looking umbrella, a warm smile painted over his innocent face

"….You can't go out in that rain without an umbrella, I'll take you upstairs…ok."

Tea smiled back……he was so sweet.

"..Don't worry about it, Mokuba, I'm already half soaked….."

Just then Mokuba felt a hand rest gently on his shoulder. He turned to see Kaiba looking intently at him.

"It's ok Mokuba, I'll take her."

Tea felt a bit nervous all of a sudden. She sighed quietly in defeat as she looked at Mokuba who was looking a bit worried.

"Ok, Mokuba………I'll see you tomorrow, and make sure your all packed ok."

Mokuba beamed at her

"Sure thing Tea."

She smiled as she gave him a thumbs up, a bit of her old self floating to the surface again.

Tea fumbled with the keys to the front door, Kaiba only inches behind her, holding the umbrella above them both, the rain still pouring relentlessly around them. After a few awkward seconds she managed to unlock the door and slowly pushed it open. She adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder and stepped inside. She felt Kaiba's eyes on her and couldn't help feeling girlishly nervous. Sheesh, why was he so damn intimidating?

She turned to face him as she put her keys in the front pocket of her jacket. She reluctantly met his ice blue gaze, urging her self not to show any emotion.

"Thanks"

She was just about to walk away when Kaiba intervened

"….wait…."

Tea spun around to face him again.

"……Look, I wasn't trying to intrude, I was only doing what I thought was best ok."

Tea looked a bit indifferent.

"Kaiba,…….look, don't worry about it ok, I understand."

Kaiba stared down at her, he could see the hurt in her eyes and he was surprised that she was so calm about it. He wasn't expecting this kind of reaction.

He felt even worse about the things he said to her now.

He hated that he was being so damn soft but at that moment he didn't really give a damn. She didn't deserve this, any of it. His curiosity about what had happened between her and Yami increased considerably. But he knew now better than to get himself involved, he would only end up hurting her even more in the end.

He sighed inwardly, wishing he could say something to make her feel better.

"…… just try not to read too much into it ok."

"Ok, I won't."

Despite her distraught state of mind, Tea couldn't help feeling butterflies in her stomach as he looked at her. What the heck, get a grip Tea. Why did he have to be so damn attractive, it was almost unnerving standing there in front of him.

Kaiba felt his baser instincts taking over again, shit, what the hell was wrong with him, this wasn't the time or place. He silently scolded himself.

He decided to say something to cut the tension between them.

"Ok , don't forget, 7:00am sharp in the morning…… and try not to have us waiting too long."

Tea couldn't help the small smile pulling over her lips despite herself. Same old Kaiba

"Don't worry I won't"

He flashed a small smile back at her as he turned to walk away.

Tea stared after him for a few seconds before shutting the door. Did he just smile at her…intentionally?

She walked slowly toward the elevator, feeling confused. She thought she'd be more upset than this, but to her surprise she wasn't.

As the elevator doors parted, for some reason, all she could think of was Kaiba's smile as he walked away.