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Chapter 13

       The kids were running through their routines and Tea was watching half heartedly from the back wall.  They were well capable of running them without her help, which was good since their performance was only three days away.  At the same time it left her with very little to do, which gave her way to much time to think, something she had been trying not to do.

       She had managed to avoid Seto Kaiba for the last week and a half.  Not a very difficult thing to do considering he was avoiding her as well.  He had shown up at the center once to pick up some paperwork and she had been in the office.  But she had busied herself with paperwork of her own.  After the initial polite greeting he made no further attempt to speak with her again and had left after only a few minutes.  Standing at the door he had turned toward her just as she had looked up.  In that moment she could have sworn she saw a glimmer of pain in his eyes, but she decided she must have imagined it.  What did he have to feel hurt about?

       The whole situation was killing her.  Especially since she couldn’t talk to Yugi about it.  She felt badly enough about going to see him that night; though she consoled herself that she hadn’t said Seto’s name, and she had done nothing to indicate he was the man she had seen.  Still, it would have been easier if she had someone to talk to.  She had considered calling Bakura, but he had been very busy since his return to Domino City.  She was pretty sure that he’d have called her if he’d had the time – especially considering his behavior at Mai’s get together.

       That day had started out so well… and ended so terribly.  It just hurt so much.  It had hurt to see him at the center the other day, but it hurt worse not to see him.  She wasn’t sure what she wanted. 

       <Three days> she reminded herself.  In three days the performance would be over.  She would say goodbye to the kids and go back to her life.  Seto Kaiba would be out of her life forever.  Somehow that thought only made it worse.

       She closed her eyes, fighting back tears.  Sinking into a chair she forced herself to focus on the dancing children.

       Unbeknownst to Tea, Analisa had been watching her for some time now.  She was worried because Ms. Tea looked so unhappy.  She was even more worried because Melissa had said she’d seen Mr. Kaiba and Ms. Tea together at the office and they hadn’t talked to each other.  If Mr. Kaiba was back why was Ms. Tea still so sad?  Melissa said Mr. Kaiba seemed sad too.  

       They shouldn’t have been sad.  They should have been happy because they could see each other again.  But they weren’t.  It confused her, and it made her frustrated.  She felt bad seeing them so unhappy.  And clearly Ms. Tea was unhappy, even though she was trying hard to hide it from them all.

       Grown ups could be so stupid.

       Analisa nodded to punctuate her own thought.  And then her eyes widened as a new idea made its way into her mind.  She was so captivated by it that she stopped dancing and nearly got run into by Melissa.  She apologized and moved out of the way.

       Grown ups were clueless sometimes.  They never seemed to know what they wanted or what other people thought because they never said anything.  Oh, they talked a lot.  But none of it meant anything.  Maybe Ms. Tea and Mr. Kaiba really didn’t know they were in love.  If they knew, things would get better.  Analisa had tried talking to Ms. Tea about it, but Ms. Tea never listened.  She hadn’t tried talking to Mr. Kaiba though.  Her daddy said Mr. Kaiba was in charge of a really big company.  That meant he listened to people and their problems and then fixed them.  He made things work better.  So if Mr. Kaiba knew that he and Ms. Tea were broken, maybe he would fix them!

       With a childish nod of determination Analisa made her decision.         

***

       Yugi was frustrated.  He knew Seto and Tea loved one another, but he couldn’t say anything.  And there was little hope the two would work it out between themselves since they refused to talk to one another.  Tea was convinced Kaiba was involved with Cynthia, and Yugi couldn’t even begin to fathom what Kaiba’s problem was. 

       There was a problem though, he should know since Kaiba had called him about it at least four times in the last ten days. 

       It bothered him, but there wasn’t anything he could have done about it anyway.  After all, everything they told him was in confidence.  So he couldn’t have told Seto the truth about Tea any more then he could tell Tea the truth about Cynthia Hagarthy.  He couldn’t say anything, but he’d done plenty of listening.  And plenty of vague hinting.

       He sighed, wondering when he – who had never been in a relationship – had become a relational counselor.  It was depressing.

       How did anyone ever end up together?  He had only thought Joey and Mai were difficult, blind, and thick headed.  Kaiba and Tea beat them hands down.

       Shaking his head he decided to see if Yami wanted to go get lunch.  He needed to talk to someone whose life was improving for a change.

***

       Kaiba was running profit margin equations on a relatively new product.  He could have had someone else do it.  In fact, he had an entire department devoted to this task.  But every once in a while he liked to do it himself, just to stay in touch with reality.

       He entered the next variable and started to run the equation but stopped mid click.

       Someone was in his office.

       He didn’t know how he knew exactly, they hadn’t made any noise.  Even now, though he was focusing all his attention on the effort, he couldn’t hear the slightest stir of breath.  Still… someone was here.

       His body tensed, ready for anything but he raised his head with casual calm…

       And quirked a brow in surprise.

       Standing before him was a young girl.  Her arms were perched on her small hips and she looked extremely displeased.

       In the time it took him to register all this, and to wonder how she had gotten into his office, his mind had already placed her.  She was one of the children in Tea’s dance class at the Children’s Center.

       What was she doing here?

       “Can I help you?” he asked politely.  He would take that matter up with Ms. Jacobs later.

       “You are back.  I didn’t believe it.” She said crossly.

       Seto folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward slightly.

       “What are you talking about, Analisa?”

       She stomped a foot.  “I couldn’t believe you would come back and not come see us.  ‘Specially since you didn’t even say goodbye!”

       Seto blinked in surprise.  He hadn’t known his visits meant so much to the children.  Not that it would have changed anything.  He couldn’t have handled being in that room with Tea. “Analisa,” he began

       Analisa shook her head, angry tears in her eyes, and interrupted him, “I don’t care that you didn’t come to see us, I only want to know why you didn’t come to see her.” 

       For a moment Seto watched her in fascination; he considered that Analisa was very articulate for a child.  Then what she had said hit him. “Come to see her?” he asked, truly bewildered.  What did this child want?

       Analisa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

       “You didn’t come to see Ms. Tea.  You didn’t say goodbye to her.  And I bet you didn’t even write her!” she accused, eyes sparking angrily.  “She was so sad!”

       Seto jerked back at her accusation.  It was true, all of it, but why did it matter?  Tea had probably just written him out of obligation.  She certainly wouldn’t have wanted to hear back from him.  She was probably too occupied with Bakura’s no doubt lengthy letters. 

       “Analisa,” he said calmly, “I don’t think she was sad about me.” She was probably just upset because Bakura was gone.  “She was just upset because someone… special to her,” he couldn’t bring himself to say the word boyfriend, “was there too.”

       “Yeah, someone special was there.  You!”  Analisa marched around the desk.  “Why are grown ups so dumb?”  she was crying now, and Seto felt his heart clench.  He hated to see kids cry.  He had seen too much of that in the orphanage. “Ms. Tea wouldn’t tell me, but I know she was sad because you were gone.  And you were probably sad too.  ‘Cuz you guys are in love, but you’re never going to figure it out and you’re both just gonna be miserable forever, and, and…” she was too distraught to speak. “Why are you so stupid?” she sobbed, throwing herself at him and crying into his shirt.

       He was a little surprised, but he wrapped his arms around her.  The poor child was obviously very worked up about all this.  He wasn’t even angry with her for calling him stupid, she didn’t know what she was saying.

       “Analisa?” she pulled back and he looked into her eyes, “Analisa, being a grown up is very complicated.  You’re right, I was sad to be away from all of you.  But Ms. Tea and I aren’t in love.  Ms. Tea loves… someone else.” Though he fought hard to sound normal he knew his voice caught a bit at the end.  He smiled at the girl.  “Thank you for caring enough to come see me.  Now,” he pulled out a tissue and wiped her damp face, “I think you had better get home before your mother gets worried.”  He stood, leading her toward the door.  “Shall I have my secretary call someone for you?”

       Analisa shook her head.  She seemed her normal, cheerful, self once more, and, for a moment, Kaiba wondered if it had all been an act.  Then he shook the thought away.  She was just a child.

       “I’ll take the bus.” She told him, “That’s how I got here.  Mr. Matthews, the bus driver, he’s my friend.”

       Seto nodded, releasing her hand as he opened the door to his office.

       “Alright.  But you promise me you’ll go straight home.”

       “I promise.” She said solemnly.

       Seto almost smiled at how out of place the expression was on her little girl face.  “Goodbye Analisa.”

       “Goodbye.”

       Analisa waved at Ms. Jacobs as she walked through the office.  Seto hid a smile as the poor woman nearly fell out of her chair in shock.  Obviously Analisa had snuck into his office while she wasn’t looking.  But then, she was a secretary not a guard, she was not accustomed to having to prevent people from entering his office.  The people she dealt with waited to be announced like good professionals and solicitors.  To her credit she quickly recovered and waved back, though she did cast an apologetic glance at him.

       At the door Analisa turned back.  “You’re wrong.” She stated with utmost confidence, “Ms. Tea doesn’t love someone else.  She loves you.  And if you don’t make a move quick you’re gonna regret it the rest of your life.”  With those sage words she left the room.

       Kaiba just stared after her.  What did she know?  She was just a child.  But her words had opened the wounds in his heart and soul once more.  Depressed he turned to go back into his office, wondering if he would be able to concentrate on those equations again today.

       “Mr. Kaiba,” he looked up at Ms. Jacobs.  She looked mortified, “I’m so sorry sir.  I don’t know how she could have-”

       He raised a hand, stopping her torrent of words, “It’s alright Ms. Jacobs.  Clearly she is an extremely resourceful and clever child.”

       Ms. Jacobs nodded gratefully.

       “Ms. Jacobs, hold all my calls.  I don’t wish to be disturbed.”

       She nodded, eyeing him with barely veiled curiosity before turning back to her work.

       Head hung he walked back to his desk and collapsed in the chair.  He buried his face in his arms on the desktop.  If only he could believe Analisa’s words.

       <Tea>

 ***

       Kaiba put his briefcase in the downstairs office and turned to go.  Maybe he’d grab a snack before heading up to his room; dinner wouldn’t be for hours.  Bringing his head up as he stepped toward the door he pulled back abruptly.

       “You’re home early.”

       It was Mokuba, standing in the doorway.  He was leaning casually against it, but something in his expression warned his brother not to be fooled – he had something serious on his mind.

       “Yes.” He said, though it was hardly the response he knew his brother was looking for.  How could he tell his little brother that he had been too upset to stay at work?  That the words of an eight year old girl about a woman he should have gotten over long ago struck him so hard he couldn’t concentrate?  The old Seto Kaiba would have laughed at the lovesick fool standing in his office.  But then, the old Seto Kaiba had never allowed himself to love anyone, not even Mokuba, completely.

       Mokuba accepted this explanation – or lack there of – with a nod, still watching him intently.  “I need to talk to you if you’re up to it.”

       Seto sighed, “Do I need to sit down?”

       Mokuba shrugged, “Probably not.  It isn’t really a big deal; it’s just been on my mind.”

       Kaiba didn’t sit down, and neither did Mokuba.  They both remained exactly as they were, Seto in the middle of the office floor, legs spread shoulder width for balance, Mokuba leaning against the door frame. 

       “So talk.”

       Mokuba nodded and plunged right in without preamble, “Why didn’t you write Tea while you were in Egypt?” he asked calmly.

       Seto blinked, “What?” this was the last thing he had expected to hear from his brother.

       “You heard me.  Why didn’t you write Tea while you were in Egypt?  You wrote everyone else.  You didn’t think she noticed that?”

       “Well, I…” Seto wasn’t sure what to say.  It was true, but why did Mokuba care?  How did Mokuba even know?  At the moment it slipped his mind that Mokuba and Tea had been close friends long before he and Tea had come to friendly terms. It didn’t matter though, because Mokuba couldn’t possibly understand.  He just didn’t know what was going on.  And Seto wasn’t about to explain it to him.

       “She was really hurt.” Mokuba’s voice held no accusation, but it was clear he was disappointed.

       “She was?”  the tall brunette found that confusing.  But then he reminded himself that friendship had always been the driving factor in Tea’s life.  Her friends meant more than anything to her.  The possibility of losing one was enough to upset her any day. 

       Feigning indifference he shrugged.  “She’ll get over it.”

       Mokuba looked at him incredulously, “What’s wrong with you Seto?”  He walked over and took his older brother by the shoulders.  “Why are you acting like this?”  

       “What is this?!” Kaiba shouted in frustration, shrugging him off and pulling away, his face contorted in pain, “Beat Seto up about Tea day!?”

       Mokuba eyed him with genuine curiosity.  “Who else talked to you about Tea?”

       “Some kid from the center that you don’t even know!” his brother shouted.

       Mokuba was surprised by his brother’s emotional outburst, but not intimidated.  Still, it brought back questions that had been lurking in the back of his mind for months now.  Questions about the nature of his brother’s regard for Tea Gardner.

       “What did she want?”

       “To yell at me for not writing Tea while I was gone and to tell me we’re both sad!  Why is everyone suddenly so concerned about my relationship with Tea Gardner?!  Can’t you all just leave me alone!?”   He turned away from Mokuba, his fists clenched, knuckles white.  And it seemed to Mokuba that he was having trouble breathing steadily.

       Suddenly Mokuba felt deeply sorry for his brother.  He had spent so much of his life locking his feelings away.  And, though he was doing much better, it must have been hard.  Clearly there was something here he didn’t understand.  Still, he couldn’t help but feel that if Seto and Tea could work things out they would both be much happier.  Obviously what they were doing now wasn’t working.  He was fairly certain his brother wouldn’t be receptive to anything he had to say on the subject at this point, but concern drove him to take a chance.

       “Seto,” he asked gently, “why are you so angry?  Do you love her?”

       Seto was so shocked he couldn’t speak.  His mouth gaped and he was certain he was doing an excellent impression of a fish out of water.  When he did speak it was low and tense, curt even. 

       “Get out.”

       Mokuba didn’t argue.  It was probably better to leave him alone to think about it.  He turned to go, but paused just outside the door and turned back.  “You didn’t deny that you love her.” He said quietly.  Then he walked away, closing the door behind him.

       Hearing the click of the latch Seto sank to his knees and hung his head, a single tear trailing down his face.

       How could he deny it?  It was true.  He loved her, but he had to let her go.  He was trying, he really was.  After all, he loved her, and he truly wanted her to be happy, even if it wasn’t with him.  But it was just so painful.  Closing his eyes he tried to shut out the pain, but all he saw was her face.

       After several long minutes he pulled himself together and went over to his desk.  Picking up the phone as he slouched into the chair he dialed Yugi’s number. 

***

       “Hello Tea.” Bakura waved as he approached her.  She was seated on a park bench, enjoying the sunset.  She stood to greet him, tucking her hair behind her ears as she so often did.  He smiled.

       “I haven’t had the chance to talk to you since the last time we met here. Before I went to Egypt.”

       “Yeah.” She looked down at her shoes.  Leave it to Bakura to get straight to the point.  She had known he would.  And she knew it was only because he was concerned for her.

       “And?  Did you think about it?”

       Tea sighed, “Oh Bakura, it doesn’t matter now.  He,” she choked for a moment and then forced herself to continue, “he’s not interested in me.” She finished quietly, wounded.

       Bakura looked at her quizzically.

       “Remember the ‘charming socialite’?  I saw them kissing in the park.”  Against her will her eyes teared up.  “This is so silly.” She whispered.

       Bakura, who had been watching her sympathetically, stepped forward and drew her into his arms.  “It isn’t silly Tea.  Heartbreak never is.”

       She sniffed, burying her face in his chest and clinging to him.  “I really love him, you know.  I couldn’t believe it, but standing there, watching them, I knew… and it was too late.”

       Tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t seem to stop them.  “I want him to be happy.” She said brokenly, “I really do, but…”

       “It still hurts?” he asked gently.

       She nodded.

       “Tea, it’s alright to be hurt.  That doesn’t make you a bad person, or even a bad friend.”

       “I know.” She said weakly, “but I can hardly bear to look at him.”

       Bakura stroked her hair soothingly, murmuring comfort to her.  He still wasn’t certain she was correct concerning Kaiba’s feelings for her.  He had seen the look in the CEO’s eyes when he watched Tea.  At the same time he was confused by Kaiba’s recent behavior.  He knew Kaiba hadn’t written Tea while he had been in Egypt.  He did appear to be avoiding her.  It was quite a puzzle.  Bringing his focus back to Tea he pressed his cheek to her hair.  She had calmed some. 

       “Have you spoken to Yugi about it?” he asked, and she stiffened. His brow furrowed. “It would probably make you feel better.” He said softly.

       She shook her head forcefully.  “I couldn’t do that to him.  He works with Seto.  They’re friends.” She remembered him asking if he knew the man, and her own vague response. She also remembered that terrible night more than a week before.  Better not to talk to Yugi at all than to practically lie to him.

       Bakura nodded in understanding.  “Alright, Tea.  I’m here for you.  You can tell me anything.  You know that, right?”

       Tea pulled back and offered him a shaky smile.  “I know.  Thank you Bakura.”

       He smiled and brushed her hair from her face.  “Any time Tea.  That is what friends are for.  You would do the same for me.”