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Chapter 8

       They set off for Egypt early the next morning. There had been very little time for explanations and goodbyes.  That suited Kaiba just fine – he didn’t want anyone to know where he was, he didn’t want to say goodbyes.  This was the perfect opportunity to avoid the kid’s Center… and Tea, possibly for months.  Avoiding Bakura would be slightly more difficult, as Yami and Bakurai had insisted that he be added to the archeological team coming with them.   Seto had had to relent.  Bakura was the best, and he had a solid background in this area.  They needed him.  Still, he was certain there wouldn’t be much cause to interact with the man on this trip – they would both be very busy.

       He felt somewhat guilty, avoiding his friends like this, but it was just too painful.  He couldn’t imagine how it would feel if he ever saw them together. 

       He found himself inordinately pleased that Bakura was taking a later flight to Egypt.

       On the bright side – this unexpected trip also provided a much needed excuse in avoiding Ms. Hagarthy.  He had received two more calls from her.  She was becoming a full blown nuisance and it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore her.  She had even sent flowers to his home.  Flowers! He’d always thought men sent flowers, not women.  She was a little forward thinking for his tastes.  <Probably a women’s lib. Advocate too> he thought sourly.  Not that he was against equality between men and women, but the feminist liberals were a little overbearing <and a little crazy>

       Shaking thoughts of Ms. Hagarthy out of his mind he turned his thoughts instead toward the crown, the tunnels, and the answers that might lie in Egypt.  There would be much work once they arrived.  Initially most of the work would be his.  He would have to hire a crew, rent or buy equipment, set up a camp and arrange for supplies.  It would also be his job to set up a schedule.  After that his job would become routine while the others did the hard work.  Still this journey held all the promises of a real adventure, and he was looking forward to it.

***

       “Hey! Tea!” A tall blond man was yelling across the mal..  The three young adults with him had long ago learned to ignore his sometimes embarrassing behavior.  The second man shook his head wryly while the two women looked on with amused affection.

       Tea smiled and quickened her step.  “Hey Joey!” she raised a hand to wave.  She was wearing a short tan skirt and a pink top, her blue eyes sparkled with fun.

       Reaching the small group she greeted Joey once more and then turned to greet Mai. Tristan, and Serenity.

       “Shop first, or lunch?” Tristan asked.

       “SHOP!” All three women exclaimed enthusiastically.

       Joey groaned.  “Man,” he faced Tristan accusingly, “why’d you even ask?  You knew they would choose shopping!  Now we’ll never get tat eat, and I’m starving’.”

       Tristan put his hands up defensively.  “Hey, I was just trying to be a gentleman.  Not that you would know much about that.  Even if you are married.”

       Joey growled, a low, deep, sound in the back of his throat.  “Is dat so?  If my sister weren’t so fond of you I’d rearrange your face Tristan!”

       “As if!” Tristan glared, “I’d wipe the floor with you!”

       “Would not!”

       “Would too!”

       The women were watching the two men argue with smiles.  They talked tough, but the two were the best of friends and always would be, no matter how much they fought.

       As the argument spiraled down into blatantly juvenile behavior Mai decided to step in.

       “Alright boys, let’s go.  Kindergarten hour is over.”  And just in case they weren’t inclined to obey her she grabbed Joey by the collar and began to pull him away.

       “Ow!” he yelped, trying to hold his collar away from his neck so he wouldn’t choke.  “Mai! What’d ya do dat for!?”

       “You were badgering poor Tristan.”

       “I just want lunch!” he whined.

       “Later.”

       “But Mai, I’m starved!” he insisted.

       “We’ll eat later Joey,  so just stop making a scene.”

       “B-”

       She let go of him and turned to face him, leaning in close, “I’ll make it up to you later.” She promised softly, straightening his now rumpled collar.

       His eyebrows shot up, “Yeah?” she nodded and he grinned, “I think I could handle that Mrs. Wheeler.  You have a deal!”

       “Good.”  And they set off cheerfully into the wilds of the mall.  Considering it, Joey thought he’d got a pretty good deal.

       He wasn’t so sure an hour and a half later when they were still shopping, they still hadn’t had lunch, and his stomach was starting to complain.

       “I wish Yug were here.” He groused, sticking his hands in his pockets.  Yugi had had an early meeting this morning.  With both Kaiba and Yami gone he had a lot of extra work.  He had promised to meet them later, but at this point Joey was afraid he wouldn’t live to see him.

       Tristan threw an arm around him in one of those semi hugs guys give.  The kind that look as though they can’t decide if they want to hug them or choke them.

       “What’s the matter pal?  My company not good enough for you anymore?”

       Joey glared at him, “Was it ever?”

       Tristan jerked his elbow to a smaller angle, effectively cutting Joey’s air supply in half.

       “Okay! OKAY!” he relented, “I give!  I just thought maybe he could convince them to stop for some food!”

       Tristan released him.  “You know, I’m kind of hungry myself.” He glanced warily at the girls, “But I’m not gonna tell them that.”

       Tea, who had been listening to the guys’ conversation as Mai and Serenity chatted, decided to take pity on them.

       “Hey, Mai, Serenity,” the other two women stopped their conversation and turned to face her, “Why don’t we break for lunch?”

       “Sure!” Serenity agreed, and Mai nodded.

       The guys cast Tea a grateful look and she winked at them.  Mai noticed and looked down at her watch.  She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, and her eyes widened in surprise.

       “Oh Joey!” she rushed over to him.  “I’m so sorry!  I didn’t realize what time it was.  You must be starving!”

       “Naw, s’okay,” he said cheerfully wrapping an arm around her shoulder, “You’re gonna make it up to me later – right?”

       “Definitely.” She whispered, their faces moving closer.

       Tristan tapped Joey’s shoulder.

       “What?” he growled, backing away from his wife.

       “I thought you were hungry.” Tristan said bluntly.

       “Oh, yeah.”

       They made their way to the mall food court where they would have lots of options.  The girls each grabbed a salad and a smoothie and found a table.  A few minutes later the guys approached.

       Tea groaned as she saw them walking over, trays piled high with all sorts of food.

       “I don’t understand how you can eat like that!” she exclaimed, “And I really don’t understand how you can afford to.  Joey, how did you get the cash to eat like that before you married Mai?”

       “Hey, you do what you have to.” He told her, dead earnest.  “Besides, it’s not as though Tristan’s rollin’ in dough, an' he eats as much as I do!”

       “Yeah, Tristan,” Serenity turned to him, “How do you afford to eat like that all the time?”

       Tristan swallowed his food and looked up, “Easy, I live on my cycle.  No rent, no utilities, no payments.  That leaves all my money for food!”

       They all stared at him and he grinned, shaking his head.

       “I’m kidding guys.”

       “I should hope so.” Mai muttered.  But Tristan didn’t hear her.  He was already focused on his food again.

       Despite the fact that both men had at least twelve times as much food as the women they finished first.  While they waited for the girls to finish they talked.  They talked about cars and sports, which bored the ladies.  So Joey decided to bring up something they might all be interested in. 

       “You talked to Yug recently?” he asked Tristan.  The other man nodded.  “Did he tell you about Yami and Bakura and everyone and that crown?”

       “Yeah, he said something about ancient pasts and… well, to tell you the truth, that Egyptian stuff has always confused me.”

       “Yami and Bakurai thought they recognized the crown.  They think it might have been Yami’s and that it might help them regain their memory.” Tea explained.

       Mai and Serenity had become very still, watching the other three converse apprehensively.  Briefly Tea wondered what their problem was, but she was too wrapped up in what the guys were saying to ask.

       “Right,” Joey said decisively, “Which is why they went to Egypt.  I don’t think Yug’s heard from them since they got there though.”

       “Wh-what?” Tea whispered, so low no one heard her. 

       “Oh, right!  Has Mokuba heard anything?” Tristan asked, “I mean, Kaiba went too didn’t he.”

       Joey nodded, “Yep.  In fact, he financed the whole thing.  That’s why they left so quickly.”

       Tea was now deathly pale.  “K-kaiba?” she asked, loud enough that the others turned toward her.  She was staring, unseeing, at Joey.

       Joey shifted uneasily, “Uh, yeah,” he hadn’t noticed that his wife and sister were making subtle shushing motions before, but now he saw them, and he was confused.  “Yami, Bakura, Bakurai, Marik, and Kaiba went to Egypt to look at some old ruins.”

       “Kaiba is in Egypt!?” Tea’s voice was raised  .

       The table fell dead silent and Joey winced. 

       “That’s what I said. Is there a problem?” He finally ventured

       “B-b-b- he can’t be.” She gasped.

       “Tea, are you okay?” Tristan started to stand and go to her, but she shook her head.

       “He can’t be.” She whispered.  She stood abruptly speaking in a normal tone.  “I have to go.” She snatched up her purse and took off before anyone had a chance to respond.

       They others sat in silence for a few moments, staring at the door Tea had just left through.

       Mai backhanded Joey across the chest, “Now look what you’ve done.” She accused. 

       He looked at her in confusion “What’d I do?”

       She shook her head.  “Oh, never mind.”

       “What was with her?” Tristan asked.

       Serenity rolled her eyes.  “Never mind Tristan.  You wouldn’t understand.”  

***

       Tea hurried down the street, so lost in thought she wasn’t even aware of her surroundings.

       <EGYPT!?!> the word echoed in her head, <he’s in Egypt!  And he didn’t tell me!> she reminded herself that Joey had said they left quickly.  And Yugi had been the one to tell him about it.  Probably when they talked about meeting at the mall.  But still… someone could have told her.  <Why didn’t he tell me?>

       Tea stopped abruptly as she ran into something solid.

       “Tea?”

       She looked up to see Duke Devlin looking down at her with concern.  He placed his hands on her arms to steady her, and hold her in place.  “Are you okay?”

       “Sorry, I should watch where I’m going.” She said quickly.  She just wanted to get away, to think.

       “Um, okay. Well, I wasn’t exactly doing such a hot job of that myself so I’ll just have to forgive you.  This time.” He grinned at his own teasing, but she didn’t respond at all.  He frowned, bending to try and look in her eyes.  “You sure you’re okay?”

       She nodded.  Why wouldn’t he just let her go?

       “Okay.” He could see she was in a hurry so he let her go and took a step to the side.  He wanted to make her tell him what was wrong, and he certainly didn’t want to let her run around town in this clearly agitated state.  She obviously wasn’t paying any attention to, well… anything.  What if she had run into a car instead of him?  But she was a grown woman.  If she didn’t want his help he couldn’t force it on her.    As if sensing his reluctance Tea forced a cheerful smile.  “I’m fine Duke, really.  I was just a little distracted.  I’ll pay better attention now.”

       “Alright.” He said uncertainly.  What was his problem?  She was probably late to an appointment or something. 

       She nodded and stepped past him.

       “Hey, Tea?” he turned to look at her, and she turned as well.  “You haven’t talked to Yami or Kaiba have you?  I heard they were in Egypt.”

       Tea’s eyes widened and her fists clenched.  Without another word she turned and ran away, leaving a very confused Duke behind.

       “What was that all about?” he asked aloud. Then he shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets, and walked away.  No matter how many women he charmed, no matter how many he dated, he would never understand them.  Never.

***

       Tea ran through Domino city toward Yugi’s apartment.  Hopefully she could catch him when he stopped there before heading to the mall.  Tears streamed down her cheeks and she felt a little silly, but she couldn’t stop them.

       <Does everyone know about this but me?!> she thought.

       It wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t fair.

       <How could he?>

       Tea didn’t even bother to buzz Yugi, she just ran up the stairs and pounded on the door.

       She heard a muffled “coming” and a moment later the door opened.  She shoved past Yugi and stomped to his couch.

       “Tea?” He turned in confusion, but shut the door and followed her to the couch.

       “Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded.

       His violet eyes clouded in confusion, “Tell you what?”

       “That he went to Egypt!”

       “To- he who?”

       “K-” Tea stopped, realizing how her declaration might sound.  “Yami, and the Bakuras, and Kaiba, and Marik!”

       Yugi noticed that that was more than one ‘he’ and she had distinctly said ‘he’ before, but he didn’t comment.  He sat beside her on the couch, taking her hands and speaking gently.

       “I was going to tell you today.”

       “How come everyone else already knew?” she accused, “Even Duke!”

       “Duke had a meeting with Kaiba this morning about a new Dice Monsters game system.  That was the meeting I had to take care of.  So that’s how he knew.  Joey found out when I explained to him why I couldn’t meet you at the mall this morning, and he told Mai and Serenity.  As for Tristan, he was here when Yami came barging in two nights ago looking for a suitcase.  We helped him pack.”

       “Oh.” Tea said weakly.  They were all perfectly good explanations. “Oh.” she repeated.

       “You okay now?” Yugi asked, concern clear in his eyes.

       “Yeah.  I just,” she paused, taking a hand form his to twist a lock of hair nervously, “he didn’t tell me.  I mean, we’re in the middle of a project for the Center, and he just left!”

       Yugi’s eyes widened as realization dawned.  “Kaiba.” He stated and she nodded.  “Tea,” Yugi pulled her hand back down into his, causing her to look up at him.  “They were really agitated and in a huge hurry.  But, if it’s the program you’re worried about, I’m sure Kaiba took care of everything before he left.

       Tea sighed, “I guess.  I mean,” she added hastily, “I know he wouldn’t neglect his responsibilities.  It’s just not like him to run off like this.”

       Secretly Yugi agreed, especially considering his attitude that night at the pier.  Yugi would have thought that Kaiba would want to keep Tea close by, but, of course, he couldn’t tell Tea that.

***

       Kaiba stared intently at the computer screen.  He had arrived back in Domino about a month before.  Regrettably their search had found very little.  They had all been disappointed, but their responsibilities back home could not be put off any longer.  There had been a pile of work as high as his head on his desk when he returned.  Or, at least, there would have been had not most of it been on the computer.   He’d done nothing but work since he returned.

        He’d just received an e-mail from one of his materials suppliers.  It was the proposed contract update for the new fiscal year.  Currently he was revising it so that he could send it back to the supplier, who would revise it once more before they discussed it in conference.

       “Mr. Kaiba.” His intercom buzzed and he looked up.  He pressed the button.

       “Yes.”

       “Mr. Kaiba, there is a person waiting for you in the downstairs lobby.”

       Kaiba’s brow furrowed.  The lobby?  Why hadn’t they come up here?  He shook his head and glanced at the clock.

       2 pm.

       He’d been wrapped up in that contract for nearly two hours now.  He needed to stop for lunch anyway. How had he lost track of the time?

       “Inform them that I’ll be right down.”  Standing her looked out the window and decided to take his coat.  Snatching it off the rack he headed out through his secretary’s office.

       “I should be back in about an hour.” He told her, “If I’m going to be later I’ll call.”

       She nodded and turned back to her work.

       As Seto took the elevator down to the ground floor he wondered who his mysterious visitor was.  He had no appointments today, and people who wanted to see him always came up to his office – provided they could get past the front desk.  If they couldn’t he was rarely even informed of their presence.  He wasn’t supposed to meet anyone for lunch.  So why hadn’t they come up?

       Stepping out into the main floor lobby he adjusted the collar of his blue trench coat as his eyes swept the room.

       His gaze came to rest on a familiar figure and his eyes widened in surprise.

       “Tea?” he walked toward her and she gave him a smile that nearly took his breath away.

       “Hi Seto!”

       Against his will he felt his eyes close and pleasure swept through him.  He loved the sound of his name on her lips.

       They were standing only two feet apart now and he looked down at her with a smile of his own.

       “What are you doing here?” he asked.

       She smiled teasingly. “Do I need a reason to come see a friend?”

       “I guess not.”

       “Good.” She turned and looped her arm through his.  “I thought we could go to lunch today.” As she spoke she guided him toward the door, “You haven’t eaten yet have you?”

       “Um,” he looked at her, stunned, but pleased, and then shook his head.  “Sure, that would be nice.” He said hastily.

       She smiled up at him, blue eyes sparkling with delight.

       The place she chose wasn’t far so they walked.  Not once did she let go of his arm, and he was intensely aware of her body brushing against his side as they walked.  He swallowed, reminding himself to breath. 

       Reaching the café they separated so that he could hold the door open for her.  He felt a twinge of regret when she released his arm, but it did not remain long. Pausing in the doorway she turned to face him. Then, rising slowly on tiptoe, she pressed a light kiss to his lips.

       “Thank you, Seto” she murmured before continuing through the door.

       He was stunned, absolutely unable to move.

       Had she just kissed him?

       “Seto?” she was waiting expectantly.  Quickly he moved into the room allowing the door to shut behind him.

       “Tea?  Did you just-”

        He didn’t get to finish his sentence.  She shushed him, gently placing a finger against his lips.

       “Seto…” she stood on tiptoe once more and leaned toward him, her hand caressing his cheek, her lips inches from his own.  His eyes drifted slowly shut and his heart was racing.  He could feel the warmth of her breath and his own breathing became shallow in anticipation of her kiss.  Ever so lightly her lips brushed his, then she leaned closer, hands spread on his chest, and –

       “Mr. Kaiba!”

       Seto’s head jerked up.  He was still in Egypt, in his tent, and he was supposed to be writing checks. His feet hit the floor with a loud thud as he sat upright in his chair and they fell off the desk.

       <I had my feet on the desk!> he never placed his feet on the furniture.

       Quickly he composed himself.

       “Uh, yes.” He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the man in the doorway, or at the tent flap as was actually the case.  Frantically he searched his jumbled thoughts for the man’s name.  He couldn’t recall it.

       “Well, what is it?” he asked.

       The man eyed him uncertainly, but responded in a neutral tone, “I was wondering if you could tell me where to find the filters for the equipment cleaner.”

       “Um… in the second supply tent, lock up B, second shelf.” Kaiba told him.  At least he could remember that much.

       The man nodded his thanks and turned to go, casting a last, quizzical, glance over his shoulder at Kaiba.

       Once he was gone Kaiba leaned forward resting his elbows on the desk.

       <Daydreaming again> he berated himself.

       That wasn’t like him, not at all, but he couldn’t seem to help it.  Nine days since they had arrived in Egypt and he still couldn’t get Tea out of his thoughts and dreams.  He found himself disappointed that he had been brought out of his daydream at that particular moment.  So what if it hadn’t been real, it would have been nice…

       <She’s taken> he reminded himself sharply.

       What kind of man was he to be harboring feelings for his friend’s girlfriend?

       But somehow, even that thought didn’t help.  His thoughts always centered around her.  He wondered what she was doing, if she missed him… if she missed Bakura.  Sometimes he caught himself thinking of how it might have been had he had the courage to tell her his feelings, if he hadn’t waited so long, if he’d taken a chance on their relationship.

       He’d even found himself thinking about “their future”.  He had it all planned out.  He could imagine her greeting him with a kiss when he came home from work.

       <Stop it!> he was only going to cause himself more pain in the end.  Focusing on “what ifs” and “might have beens” and “if onlys” would never set him free.

       Still, he couldn’t imagine a future where she wasn’t the first thing he saw every morning, and the last thing he saw each night.

       He clenched a fist, clamping down on the thoughts.  He had work to do after all…    

***

       Tea rubbed the back of her neck, head down for a moment.  There were a little less than two months until the performance and the children were doing extremely well.  They had learned over half the program.  She even had a few guys in the class now, which meant she could include some partner dances.

       She smiled as she watched them run their routines.  The first thirty minutes she let them warm up and talk.  It helped them focus later.  She headed toward the back table to check her material and cue the first CD.

       “Ms. Tea?” she turned to see Analisa standing behind her.

       “Yes Analisa?” she smiled down at the girl.

       Analisa eyed her seriously, “Did you and Mr. Kaiba have a fight?” she asked bluntly.

       Tea choked, “N-no! Of course not!” she sputtered.  “Why would you think that?”  She struggled to regain her composure.

       “He never comes anymore.” The girl stated calmly.

       Tea knelt so that she was at Analisa’s eye level.  “He’s in Egypt, remember?  That’s really far away, and he’s doing really important work.  He can’t come back until he’s done.  It’s really difficult, so he might be gone a long time.”

       “Is that why you’re so sad?” Analisa eyed her with real concern.

       Tea’s first instinct was to deny that she was sad at all.  But that would be untrue, and Tea’s policy was to be honest.  That was part of why she had accepted Bakura’s suggestion.  Absolute honesty at all times, especially with oneself.

       She carefully considered her next words.  “Analisa, five of my very close friends are gone and I don’t know when they’ll be back.  And they are all very worried and uncertain and looking for something very important to them.  That’s why I’m sad Analisa.  Wouldn’t you be sad if your friends were?”

       Analisa nodded her acceptance and Tea almost sighed in relief.  It was short-lived however.  Analisa cocked her head to one side, studying Tea for a moment longer.

       “You’re more sad about him though.” She finally stated.  “It’s because you guys are in love.” Before Tea could come up with a reply the little girl was gone, humming merrily as she skipped across the room.

       Tea considered going after her, but decided against it.  She would never change the child’s mind.  Besides, what would she tell her?  Despite her resolve to take Bakura’s advice she still didn’t know how she felt about Seto Kaiba.  How could she explain their relationship to someone else when she didn’t understand it herself?

       It wasn’t as though Analisa had told anyone else her thoughts on the subject.  If and when that happened Tea would deal with it.  For now it wasn’t important.

       Unfortunately her words had reminded Tea of her conversation with Bakura, which set her thinking about Kaiba.

       <How do I feel about him?> she asked herself for the hundredth, if not thousandth, time since that conversation in the park.  Glancing at the clock she walked over to a chair and sank into it.  The children had eight minutes of free warm ups left before she would run them through their routines and teach them a new one.  For now they didn’t need supervision.

       <I was upset at them for leaving without telling me.  And I practically blew up at the guys when they told me>  she flushed as she recalled her outburst.  Worse yet was her teary conversation with Yugi.

       <Is that because I really do have feelings for him?> but she had been upset at Yami, and Bakura, and the others as well.

       <Am I over thinking this?> she sighed. Probably.  Maybe Kaiba’s leaving was a good thing.  She could just forget about all of this for a while and focus on the kids.

       With new resolve she stood and headed for the front of the class.  But in the back of her mind an all too familiar question still lingered.

       <How do I feel…>