Chapter Eleven:

Open & Shut Case

Kaiba lay awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling above him. His mind was a muddle of utter confusion and anger.

Why the hell was he even there?

He sighed helplessly as he reminded himself of the reason.

It was for Mokuba that he endured this torment. But unlike any other, this was a torment that he was willing to endure, for his brother's sake. Mokuba was everything that mattered to him and he would be more than willing to go an extra mile just to make him happy.

He shifted over onto his side and stared out at the moonlit sky through the screen door which led out to the veranda. He grabbed a pillow and pressed it over his face.

He knew exactlywhy he was there, but that didn't change the fact that he was there. It wasn't his fault that he hated the beach with a special kind of loathing.

His mind shifted again. And to make matters worse, Yami's cheerleader was there with them. To think that he was actually on a vacation with a genuine member of the geek squad. What was happening to the natural order in his life? He dismissed the thought of Yami and his annoying friends as fast as he could manage, in an effort to retain some of the sanity he still possessed. One member however remained etched clearly in his mind, and he was having a hard time dismissing her as easily as he did the rest.

Tea Gardner.

She was all that remained within the confinement of his troubled thoughts.

He had asked himself over and over, why he was feeling the way he felt; but he couldn't seem to give himself an honest answer. Why was she always on his mind?

Ever since the day she started working for him, he started developing these strange feelingstoward her. At first he thought it was just the sensation of seeing an old face after so long, but after everything that happened between them, now he wasn't so sure. The feelings were new to him and he couldn't decipher what he should make of them. Was he starting to……… No, that couldn't be it, that was absolutely ridiculous. He cleared his mind of the thought.

He sighed again, feeling his anger getting the better of him.

He wasn't getting any answers from himself that was clear; he knew he was too stubborn to admit anything of the sort.

But nevertheless, something had to be done about this.

He made up his mind as he pulled the pillow off his head and closed his eyes, letting the sleepiness wash over him.

He would use this vacation to his advantage. He would find out once and for all, if his feelings for Tea were exactly what he thought they were.

Tea awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. Despite the unexpected run in with the lizard yesterday, things had gone pretty well for their first day at the hotel. She had unpacked her things in a flash and managed to put everything in its place before heading down to the pool with Mokuba.

Kaiba of course wanted nothing to do with them for the rest of the day. Instead, he locked himself in his room for the rest of the afternoon, claiming that he wouldn't step foot anywhere near the pool or the beach for the remainder of their stay there.

Both she and Mokuba didn't take him too seriously knowing fully well that he was just being the same old stubborn CEO that everyone knew and loved. They knew they would eventually find a way to get him out of his room sooner or later.

Unfortunately, Tea had the feeling that that would be solely her job.

She yawned like she never yawned before, feeling more rested than she ever felt in her life. She got off the bed and headed out to the veranda, wanting to get a first glimpse of the ocean at the crack of dawn. The sight was absolutely breath taking. The white sand sparkled with the fistful of light from the morning sun; contrasting brilliantly against the sleek blue stretch of ocean.

Breathing in the cool air, Tea closed her eyes against the overwhelming calm.

If only her life outside the walls of this serene paradise were as beautiful as this.

Tuesday:

Ocean view Hotel

Kaiba's Room

9:06AM

"What the hell?"

Kaiba awoke feeling robbed of the best sleep in his life. His anger immediately rushed to the surface.

He got out of bed and headed to the door in nothing but his boxer shorts, not giving a damn about appearances.

He swung open his door and found himself staring down at a nervous hotel attendant.

He was standing behind a breakfast cart, topped with an array of breakfast dishes.

Kaiba frowned instinctively, knowing fully well that he hadn't ordered any breakfast that morning.

He opened his mouth to say something clearly unpleasant, but before he could utter a word, a lively brunette popped in next to the terrified hotel attendant.

She looked up at him with the best puppy dog eyes she could muster under so much pressure.

'… Good morning Kaiba…….. I thought I'd help you start your day right, with a hearty breakfast.'

Kaiba stood frozen in his doorway, staring at Tea who was now busily ushering the attendant inside his room, forcing him to move aside.

"Gardner? What the hell….?"

She led the attendant straight into the bedroom, trying her best to ignore Kaiba for the time being.

After leaving the cart of food the attendant bowed politely to them both and hurriedly left the room, leaving Kaiba and Tea alone inside the bedroom.

Tea swallowed hard as she only then realized the predicament that she was in. It was such a spur of the moment decision that she didn't have time to contemplate the repercussions.

She stood silently by the cart of food trying to disguise her utter terror as she looked up at Kaiba who was glaring at her in nothing more than a pair of boxer shorts.

The tension was thick around them and either of them said a word for a few seconds.

Kaiba was the one that spoke first,

"What the hell do you think you're doing, ordering me breakfast? I don't remember asking you to do anything of the sort!! If I wanted breakfast I would have ordered it myself!"

Tea couldn't seem to open her mouth to speak; her heart was pounding for some reason. Him standing there like that, the sight made her nostalgic. He was so beautiful, his eyes seemed even bluer than before and his body was so perfectly chiseled.

Geez! Snap out of it!!

"I…….I'm sorry, I just wanted you to have a good breakfast, and you……..you hadn't eaten anything since we got here so I thought…"

As she spoke Kaiba found himself getting lost in her words and the sound of her voice. His feelings were acting up again; they were undeniably more intense than before.

What the hell was she doing to him?
He cut her off before she could finish, he knew how hard it must be for her to stand there and say those things to him. especially with his temper flaring the way that it was.

"….Ok, fine, I get the picture, no need to babble on like that."

He walked over to the cart and folded his arms. He looked at the breakfast layout with intense scrutiny.

"Hmm, not bad, you've got good taste."

Tea, surprised by his comment, smiled sincerely at him.

"Thanks."

Tea tried in vain to slow her heart rate.

Why was she acting this way? It's not like she was one of his fan girls or something.

Kaiba scuffed as he turned his attention back to her.

"..I'll let this one go for now Tea, but if anything like this happens again, I won't be so lenient got it?"

"Ok, I understand..."

She headed toward the door and stopped.

"..Um Kaiba?"
"What?"

"Well, I was just wondering, will you be hanging out with me and Mokuba today?"

Kaiba scoffed again, trying hard to hide his true feelings.

"Didn't I make it perfectly clear that I wasn't going anywhere near that stupid Beach?"
"Well Yeah but, I mean for Mokuba's sake, he's worried about you, he wants you to relax more."

"I don't need to be on the damn beach to relax you know. I can relax just fine in here!"

Tea sighed as she headed to the doorway. She turned to look back at him before leaving.

"Please, Kaiba, just try to understand the way your brother feels ok- and… he's not the only one who's concerned about you."

With that said she left the room, leaving Kaiba staring after her.

Did she just say that she was concerned about him?

Kaiba stood frozen for a half a minute his mind buzzing with a million assumptions.

He smirked to himself as he regained his composure.

He took one of the blueberry waffles from the dish closest to him on the tray and took a bite, surprised by the succulent taste. It was definitely time to have these questions in his mind answered once and for all.

Tea shut the door behind her, her heart still racing.

Why did she say that? It was as if she had no control over what was coming out of her mouth just now.

She took a deep deliberate breath as she headed to her room trying to regain her composure. Maybe being impulsive about this wasn't a very good idea. It was Seto Kaiba that she was dealing with after all. He wasn't exactly your typical everyday guy. It wasn't even the fact that he was a celebrity, it was his very aura that was intimidating, - and the fact that he was ridiculously good looking didn't help the situation either.

Within the safety of her room Tea pressed her back against her door, cursing her self for her irrational tendency to act without thinking. She put her hand to her chest, feeling the rapid beating of her heart.

She needed to find a way to get past this ridiculous school girl syndrome.

She took another deep breath and walked into the bedroom; willing her emotions away. Where was this coming from? Could it be the fact that they've been through so much lately? He was still the arrogant bastard that he always was, but there was something different about him- Or maybe it was something that was always there, and maybe she just never noticed it before. All those years ago when he saved her life in Battle City…it was enough to make her see his hidden side….His compassionate side. But her love for Yami blinded her to all other truths.

But she was a damaged woman now, how could she allow her self to feel so deeply for another person again? Despite her growing affection for him, she couldn't subject herself to such horrible pain ever again.

She sat at the edge of her bed and stared at the floor.

She couldn't deny that she cared for him, but there was nothing stronger than her resolve to protect her heart.

She promised herself with sincerity that her feelings would not become a danger to her.

11:00AM

Pool Area:

Bar Stall

Mokuba took a long hard slurp of his orange juice.

"Hey, take it easy, you'd think you were drunk or something"

Tea smiled brightly at Mokuba, who was busy ordering another cold glass of orange juice.

"Mokuba, there are a lot of other more exciting drinks here you know, and they're all free, why don't you try something else?"

"Are you kidding? Have you tried their orange juice before, it's the best I've ever had!"

Tea shook her head and smiled enjoying her company all too well.

The warm breeze was soothing against her skin. The bar was situated a few feet away from the pool, decorated with an assortment of exotic foliage, giving it an exquisite Caribbean flare.

She had decided to tie her hair up into a pony tail due to the humidity.

Her beach wardrobe was in a word pathetic to say the least but she still managed to put together something presentable enough to be seen by the eyes of such high society on lookers.

She had decided on a baby pink two piece bathing suit complimented by a cute wrap skirt that she had bought a few years ago when she was still living at home.

The simple assortment must have been a good choice, since she attracted quite a bit of attention when she and Mokuba were heading to the bar. She decided it must have been because they were curious about Kaiba's entourage.

"So I take it, my brother isn't coming down today either?"

Tea sighed as she took a sip of her chocolate martini.

"Well, I didn't really get an official answer from him, he just sort of yelled at me like he usually does."

They looked at each other and laughed, thinking about the breakfast incident earlier that morning.

"Nice attempt Tea but my brother's the most stubborn person I know."

"Yea, well it was worth a try, but don't worry, we'll get 'im next time."

They continued laughing to themselves, trying to think of other ways to get Kaiba to come out of his room.

Suddenly Tea noticed a trio of girls gasping and pointing in the direction of the pool. Instinctively she turned in her seat to see just what they were so excited about.

Her eyes widened as she saw the last person she was expecting to see walking toward them from beyond the other side of the pool.

"Huh? Is that….Kaiba?"

Mokuba spun around immediately at the mention of his brother's name.

He smiled and waved at his brother indicating to him where they were seated.

Tea turned back to the bar and tried to keep her butterflies at bay. What was he doing there? She wasn't expecting him to actually show up! Her guard was completely off!

She prayed that she wouldn't make a fool of herself.

Kaiba finally got to the bar, ignoring the attention he was attracting from everyone around him like it was second nature.

Tea turned to him casually keeping a steady grip of her drink.

"Hmm, funny seeing you here."

She was glad she could still keep her voice neutral; she would have died if her feelings were betrayed by her speech patterns.

"Whatever, I only came down here because I found Mokuba's cell phone on the floor. It's been ringing every 10 minutes. Someone named Rebecca keeps calling. It's annoying the hell out of me!"

He handed the phone to Mokuba, who seemed delighted upon hearing the information he just received.

"Um, thanks Seto……..I'll be right back you guys"

Without another word he sped off toward the hotel, leaving Tea & Kaiba staring after him.

A few seconds later, Tea only then realized that she was once again alone with Seto Kaiba. She bit her lip, expecting him to head back up to the hotel. To her dismay however, he took a seat next to her on the stool that Mokuba was sitting on previously.

She felt extremely uncomfortable, especially with the assortment of female eyes that were glaring at her from every angle.

"Well, well getting used to the good life are we?"

The bantering sarcasm in his voice was all too familiar to her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

"I'm not! I'm just trying to enjoy our vacation you jerk!"

"Now is that any way to talk to your boss."

With a pout, Tea turned to face the bar counter, taking another sip of her drink, trying in vain to ignore the incredibly hot CEO sitting next to her.

With her eyes averted, Kaiba took the opportunity to get a good look at his flustered employee.

She was obviously blissfully unaware of just how stunning she looked. He had a hard time not looking at her. He noticed a few other guys were having the same trouble. For some reason that irritated him a lot more than it should.

"So, did you actually eat your breakfast this morning? Or did you just throw it out the window?"

Tea willfully attempted to steer the conversation in a different direction.

Kaiba scoffed as he ordered a drink from the bar tender, much to Tea's surprise.

"Unfortunately no, I was hungry."

Tea smiled, grateful that he didn't make her feel bad about it.

"So how come you're not marching back up to your room? I thought relaxing wasn't your thing?"

"Who said I was relaxing? I'm just sitting here talking to my over emotional secretary, what's so relaxing about that?"

Tea took a sip of her drink, forcing herself not to smile, for the sake of her own self-respect.

"Whatever………and I'm not over emotional."

"Sure you're not."

Tea couldn't help herself, she couldn't blame him, he's practically seen every side of her for all the years that they've known each other.

Suddenly Tea's cell phone started ringing from inside her bag.

Kaiba took a sip of his drink so as to give her some privacy, but for some reason he noticed that she wasn't even making an attempt to answer her phone.

"Aren't you going to get that?"

There was a definite change in her expression as she shook her head.

"..No don't worry, it's no body important."

"Well if you're not going to answer could you at least turn it off?"

She automatically reached into her bag and pulled out her cell phone. Before she cancelled the call, Kaiba managed to get a clear glimpse of the name flashing across the display screen.

His mood suddenly took a nose dive.

They sat in silence for a few seconds until Kaiba's aggressiveness got the better of him.

"Why the hell is that asshole still calling you?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Drop the act already, I know it was him!"

"Kaiba, I thought we've already talked about this, I don't want you butting in to my personal life!"

"In case you haven't noticed, you are my business!"

Tea's heart skipped a beat at his words.

"I'll be damned if you get a nervous breakdown because of him, you're on my payroll remember."
Although his words were partially true, the whole truth remained hidden.

"A nervous breakdown? Why the hell would I have a nervous breakdown?"

Although they were practically whispering to each other, they were still attracting a lot of unwanted attention. They were after all bickering back and forth like an old married couple. Kaiba not wanting them to make the morning tabloids decided to take their little 'discussion' somewhere more discrete. Lord knows he wasn't through telling her off yet. The situation with Yami was getting on his last nerve.

He took a calming breath and cleared his face of any emotion.

"Come on, let's go."

"What? Go where?"

"Just follow me, and try not looking so red in the face for god's sake."

She decided that it was best not to argue with him any further, she had learned that it was a futile premonition.

She willed herself to appear as secretarial as possible as she calmly took her bag from off the bar counter and obediently followed Kaiba out of the pool area. She kept her eyes forward so as to avoid the nasty stares. She still however managed to get a glimpse of a pair of girls practically trying to murder her with their eye contact. Sheesh, if looks could kill she'd be a mutilated corpse by now.

She had no idea where Kaiba was taking her but she followed without a word of objection.

Finally she noticed a small hutch located in a private section of the beach a little distance from the pool.

It was surrounded by palm trees and the same sort of exotic plant life she had noticed inside the bar.

They made their way up the stone steps and across the pathway until they were at their supposed destination.

Once inside the hutch, she was able to appreciate its beauty even more. The beach was clearly visible but they were sectioned off from all the other guests.

There was a single wooden table at the center and a pair of long benches on the either side. She assumed the privacy would come in useful to business tycoons who had a hard time putting their laptops down; a perfect place for the disgruntled CEO standing next to her.

She put her bag on the table and folded her arms.

"Kaiba, what's the matter with you, why do you keep insisting on sticking your nose into my business?"

"I already told you why! I don't like repeating myself!"

Tea sighed hopelessly as she slumped onto one of the benches, not knowing what else to say.

Kaiba glared down at her, all the while trying to stop himself from getting lost in how attractive she looked.

Just then her phone started ringing again.

"I thought I told you to take off your god damn phone!"

"What the hell? Just because I work for you now, doesn't mean you own me!! '

"…..If you don't do something, I will, so if you don't want me to give that son of a bitch a piece of my mind, you better switch it off right now!!"

Tea irritably obeyed, feeling angry at herself for complying without so much as an objection.

As she switched her cell phone off, she looked up at Kaiba with woeful eyes.

Her expression practically killed him. He wanted so much to make her smile, seeing her so tainted was the last thing he wanted for her. But what should he do?

"Why are you doing this to me?"

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she spoke, so delicately that he could barely hear her. Before he knew what was happening she had already gotten up from her seat and was heading out of the hutch.

Before she could make another step however, he grabbed her by the wrist and gently pulled her toward him. Tears were already flowing down her rosy checks.

Before she could protest he pulled her into his embrace and held her to him so that he didn't have to look into her eyes, too afraid that they might betray his feelings.

"I'm sorry if I'm hurting you"

His voice was a little above a whisper but she had no trouble hearing him from the proximity of his mouth to her ear.

Tea's heart pounded in her chest, and she hoped he wouldn't feel the effect he was having on her.

Kaiba felt her body tremble against his, making his self control slip further.

"This vacation isn't just for me and Mokuba, it's for you too. I want you to forget everything while you're here…"

Tea felt her strength leave her body. She felt so safe in Kaiba's arms that she felt she could stay there forever.

"I don't know how… to…forget."

She spoke through her sobbing, finding herself gripping onto him as if she would disappear if she let go. It felt as if someone had opened a large valve within her and a lifetime of pain was about to gush out all at once. She used every ounce of strength left in her to contain her self.

"You have to try, you have to let go of the past."

Kaiba rubbed her back, trying his best to comfort her, not giving a damn about anything else. For some reason, the world around them seemed so far away.

'I'm so sorry….I'm sorry that I'm so…weak."

"You're not! You're not weak at all. Stop telling yourself that you are. If he hurts you, you just need to let him go."

Kaiba couldn't believe how fragile she had become. She felt overwhelmingly vulnerable in his arms. Whatever doubts he had in his mind at that moment were suddenly gone completely. He was falling for her, and he was falling badly – but he knew he couldn't let her see, not yet at least. It would be too much for her, and the last thing he wanted was to cause her anymore distress.

He felt her breathing become more deliberate as if she were trying to calm down. He allowed her to slowly loosen her grip on him. As she wiped her eyes she stepped a few inches backward.

"If only it were so easy..."

Kaiba's arms were still around her as she spoke.

"If you want, I could hire someone to take him out for you."

He was relieved to see her smile despite the tears running down her checks. They were both vaguely aware of the position they were in.

"You must be really tired of having to deal with a secretary who has a nervous breakdown every day."

"Of course not, this kind of thing happens all the time…It's so hard to find good help these days."

He spoke so tenderly that Tea couldn't help herself blushing. She appreciated the fact that he was trying to make her feel better, the gesture was more than welcome in her present state of mind. As she dried her tears however she slowly began slipping back to reality. A reality in which she was actually wiping her tears in Seto Kaiba's arms. Why hadn't he let go of her yet? And why wasn't she stepping away from him?

But before either of them could react, a zealous teenaged voice interrupted.

"Uh… am I interrupting something? Because I can leave, it's not a problem for me."

Both of them were surprised to see Mokuba standing a few feet away from them, arms folded with a smirk on his face.

"Uh Mokuba…it's not…"

Kaiba jumped in before Tea's emotions could take control of her again, casually letting her go; so as not to seem too conspicuous.

"…And where were you? What's up with that Phone call? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Kaiba's desperate and pathetic attempt to change the subject actually seemed to work as Mokuba's smirk suddenly disappeared from his face.

"Uh no, it's nothing, that was just a friend."

He suddenly couldn't hold their gaze anymore as he turned a brighter shade of red than Tea.

Kaiba willingly jumped at the opportunity to escape home free….at least for now.

"Right, You and I need to have a little heart to heart later."

Mokuba turned his attention to Tea, who flushed under his gaze, knowing that her face must still be red from all of her crying.

"Yea…definitely..."

Kaiba understood exactly what his tone meant. He sighed knowing he had just dug his own grave.

The rest of the day managed to go by without incident. The three of them all decided to head down to the beach to have a swim - Kaiba of course keeping clear of the water, instead he sat in the sand looking at them from the shore with an incredibly annoyed expression on his face. He had decided to tag along with them for Mokuba's sake...and also because he wanted to keep an eye on Tea. He didn't like the way some of the guys were ogling her. As he sat alone, uninterrupted, he had plenty of time to think about certain things. He looked at Tea laughing and having a good time with Mokuba. From looking at her at that moment no one would believe that she was hiding so much pain inside of her. Her smile was so beautiful, how could anyone destroy such a thing? He wanted to protect her, seeing her unhappy was tearing him apart. He wondered what had happened between her and Yami to make her so fragile.

Eventually, she would open up to him; eventually he would know the root of all her sadness. Until then he could only try his best to keep her away from the darkness in her life.

He had finally come to terms with the fact that he had feelings for her, and they were growing. He sighed as he thought of his predicament. Despite all the walls he had built up around himself, she had managed to break all of them down without a single effort.

But despite what he felt, his resolve remained unchanged. He would keep it locked away for now. If anything at all was to come of this, it would happen when she was ready for it.

.