Catching the Ocean

By: Kerigan

Chapter 9

Thank KaibaYamiLover for this one. :P

I don't own YGO

Tea took off the mesh attachable from her arms and gazed into her bathroom mirror. With a flushed face and a wildly beating heart, she patiently waited for it to reside. What had just happened? "Oh good job Tea." She whispered to herself before fixing her makeup. The mesh sleeves sat in a pile on the countertop. "What have you gotte-." She stopped talking to herself when she heard her bedroom door open.

She wished it wasn't Seto, she really did. Too many emotions flashed through her at the moment to have a clear mind. Also, with weariness creeping into her body, she just wanted to sleep. Yes, the party was downstairs, but she partied herself out. With a nice, warm shower, it could be a wonderful night to sleep. Besides, she didn't sleep well the last night so she needed this.

Looking towards the closed bathroom door she wondered if she wanted to open it or not. No guests or servants were allowed in her room so it was either one of the two boys. With Seto, she already told herself about the unsuppressed emotions, but if it was Mokuba she would be so embarrassed! Finally she decided to face her fears. With a twist of the door handle she opened to reveal an actually empty room. She hadn't heard someone leave. "Hello?" She called, just to be sure. When no one answered she sighed. Wow. That was a shock.

Timidly she opened her door to see if anyone was outside. When she saw no one, she walked out casually, and closed the door before walking towards the stairs. The classical music was now playing, with guests dancing elegantly in a certain style. The song was Carol of the Bells. It was the most beautiful Christmas song she had ever heard. Looking down she saw Mokuba waving to her cheerfully. She waved back soundly, before gazing around again. Seto was gone, so it probably was him in her room. Oh well. It wasn't really THAT dramatic that she had admitted that she liked Seto in such an awkward way. Her mind totally worked on it's own. She didn't even realized she liked him before tonight and she had known him for years. All through high school her and her friends had adventures that had him in it at times. She always thought her heart would go to Yugi or someone close to her like that. Too bad Yugi was flamboyantly homosexual. Anyway, that was a different story all together. It's just that her four closest people in the world were Yugi, Yami, Tristan, and Joey. They were the best people she had ever met. Seto wasn't apart of those four.

However, she could not deny what she felt was real. With a smile she remembered how perfect his lips felt against her own. How his hands were firmly grasping onto her with such a powerful yet soft caress. Making her way down the steps, she ignored the gazes of jealous women upon her as she headed in the general direction of the kitchen. The chef had made special 'finger' entrees for tonight, so the smell of cinnamon warmed her senses. The feeling of approaching Christmas filled her as well, and everything suddenly felt perfect once again. Surreal, but perfect. Making her way into the white kitchen she grabbed the blue phone and dialed in Yugi's number yet again. Finding a stool to sit on she sat herself down as the rings came. After the third or fourth one someone answered. "Hello, Domino Card Shop, how can I help you?"

"Yami?" Tea guessed.

A light chuckle filled the other end. "Ha, nice guess, but it's Yugi. How are you Tea?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She grinned, incredibly happy to hear a familiar voice. "I haven't heard from you in so long! I miss you guys so much, and I can't wait to see you again." It had been at least three weeks since she had seen either of the boys.

"Wow Tea, I feel special. Yami and I miss you too. He's not here right now, probably doing something with the guys again. Hey, do you want to get together tomorrow?" his voice sounded excited with the thought.

Tea giggled. "If only, but I can't. I'm sort of…..stuck with stuff and I can't make it. Oh, by the way, I have to tell you, I broke my wrist."

"No way! Are you alright?"

She loved him to death. He was such a caring and selfless guy. "Yes, I'm fine."

"What happened? Did something go wrong in your dance rehearsal?"

"No no, actually, I sort of ran into someone." Speaking of which she suddenly had a strong craving for coffee cakes. Random, but her taste buds were always like that. Looking around she saw a set of blueberry muffins that were set to leave the kitchen as soon as the last batch was eaten, so she took one delicately off the tray and nibbled on it. It was so delicious her mouth watered. Seto had a great taste in chefs.

Yugi seemed to relax on the other end. "Really, who? I hope he helped you up at least. You are never clumsy! So did you run into them or did they run into you?"

"Umm." Tea replied, putting her left index finger to her chin. That was actually a good question. "I'm pretty sure Seto ran into me."

"SETO! You mean like SETO KAIBA!" Yugi gasped, his voice getting higher with each word. Yugi didn't hate anyone, because he was innocent and sweet like Mokuba. However, he knew well enough that Tea had issues with him, or that he himself didn't like someone who threatened his family and friends.

Tea swallowed another bite of muffin before answer. "Yep. Mokuba took me to the hospital, and Seto took over, so I'm perfectly fine." She said, not even mentioning where she was at the moment.

"That must have been scary." Yugi mumbled. "I mean, wow, what are the odds? He just ran into you? Literally!"

"Well, he opened a door and I just happened to be behind it."

"Oh, before I forget, how was that job interview?" the question was innocent, but it brought some emotional problems in Tea. Instantly her heart dropped at the sudden though she still had no job, or hadn't been home in a day and a half. It wasn't that long, she knew, but she wasn't expecting to be gone at all so nothing was set for her being away. Her automatic coffee maker probably had a stale pot of coffee, with her fridge freezing everything in it. Oh yay. Also, she now had no money at all since she didn't get the job.

Her voice had dimmed drastically as she answered. "I didn't get it."

Yugi's voice bobbed up on the other end. "Why don't you work in the game shop? I mean, it would be a small amount of money, but you won't need any permanent contract or anything. You can just use it for a bumper until you get a real job, then I can let you go easily. Come on. It would be easy on you and we can see each other more frequently."

Tea grinned sadly but shook her head, even though Yugi couldn't see it. "It's so far away I'd have no way to get to work. Thanks for the offer though. I can get by, some how. "Her rich fairy tale was now drastically leaving her. She knew both Kaiba's would help her out instantly, but she couldn't do that. They had done so much for her already. Also, it kind of felt weird taking money like this. Sure they were billionaires but it wasn't her.

"Okay, but if you ever want the job it's always open to you." Yugi said warmly. He knew Tea would never except donations, so he tried giving her help in other ways. "Oh, Yami's home and…hang on… YAMI STOP IT. YOU ARE GETTING WATER EVERYWHERE…..oh I got to go. Sorry Tea. Yami had a crazy snow experience and he's wet from head to toe. Goodluck with your arm okay?"

"Alright. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Tea." Then the phone clicked. She hung it up and let out an terrific yawn. It was late, the party was ending, and her armed ached dully. She figured a hot shower and a nice cozy bed would put her to sleep instantly. So she exited the kitchen, said goodnight to Mokuba and thanked him profusely before going to bed.

"Nighty night Tea." He said hugging her. "I'm sorry I embarrassed you earlier."

She smirked at him and hugged him again. "Don't apologize. You are the awesome-est kid ever."

He smiled back, before she walked up the stairs to her room. It was going to be a goodnight.