[YGO] [Seto x Anzu] Give Me A Reason (Response for Geniusgirl)

[azurite]

geniusgirl was the one responsible for this meme in the first place, but due to the particular (and quite odd!) fics requested by people all around the board, her request (the first one made) was the last one I got to. I have to admit, it's tough duplicating the mood or style of some of these stories!

Geniusgirl wanted something that took one week after "Eat Your Words, Beautiful," probably my most clichéd fic ever. So here it is. (I was tempted to title this "This Is All Your Fault," but I already have another oneshot by that name. HAH!)

"Give me just ONE reason why I shouldn't strangle you to death right now Seto Kaiba," Téa Gardner seethed, having successfully cornered Seto Kaiba in his usual school-hour haunt: the library.

Seto Kaiba calmly placed his book -Also Sprach Zarathustra- on the table, bookmarking it carefully with his own personal brass page-holder. When he raised his eyes, he favored Téa with a chilling smile that made her stomach do something abnormal that she couldn't explain.

"Just what's got you so riled up now, Gardner? The mutt try and pull another panty-tank?" If that were the case, it was a shame Seto hadn't been there to witness it. He quite adored knowing he got on Téa Gardner's bad side, if only because she was that much more fun to tease when she was already angry.

She always took everything so seriously-- ironic, because people said the same thing about Seto Kaiba. But in reality, he had a very wicked sense of humor that appreciated some of the finer points of one's high school career, including the delicious taste of irony served raw.

And nothing was more ironic than Téa being the one on the receiving end of all the troubles Seto had been plagued with, up until a week ago, when he'd kissed her senseless in front of a good chunk of the student body.

"Joey apparently hadn't heard that we've been going out for MONTHS now, or so says the current gossip," Téa snapped. "And you're just letting those bimbos keep spreading those rumors?"

"Not just the bimbos," Seto said with a smile. "Those jocks who tried to rape you, too."

Téa's glare fell into something more akin to a pout as she remembered-- it was Seto who'd saved her, albeit not the way she would have expected. And now she was having to live with the consequences of that last-minute, stupid decision she'd made. Now she was having to lie ("We've sort of been-- it's hard to explain guys! Please try to understand!" But how could they?) to her own friends, and she hated it.

And it was all Seto Kaiba's fault.

"If the rumors bother you so much, why not correct them?" Seto asked. "You could easily tell the mutt and the others that you've only been going out with me for a week."

Téa's jaw dropped open. "We... you and I-- we are NOT going out!" Her voice came out louder than she intended, so she hurriedly turned around to see if anyone had heard. No one appeared to be in the vicinity, and no one had "Ssh!"d her. Téa breathed a sigh of relief, though she couldn't explain just WHY she felt relieved that no one had heard her little outburst.

When she turned around to face Seto Kaiba again, she was astonished to find him right in front of her.

"Oh we're not, are we?" His face was unnaturally -well, for normal humans, anyway- serious, more stoic than she could remember. And with each step forward, he seemed more intent on-- something.

Téa took a hesitant step backward. "N-No, we're not. Even though all the girls are busy writing love umbrellas for us on the chalkboards throughout school, and all the guys are yabbering how far we've gotten. I'll admit, I was sick of all those guys following me around, but-- but you USED me! You used me to get rid of those girls, and now we're BOTH stuck in this!"

"You make it sounds as if 'this' is some sort of unpleasant predicament," Seto stated, his face still expressionless.

"I-- well... isn't it? I mean, you just sort of did it on a whim, right? It's not like you like me or anyth--" Téa's voice was abruptly cut off the moment Seto's finger touched her lips. Her eyes grew wider and her cheeks flushed red-- but she didn't know why. She didn't know why she reacted so strongly to Seto Kaiba --why she ever had. She didn't know why he rubbed her the wrong way (and he still did), or why she kept remembering the fact that he'd stolen her first kiss- though it HAD been a hell of a kiss.

"Ooh, you jerk," Téa mumbled despite the finger pressed against her lips.

"But you love me anyway, don't you?" Seto asked, his stoic expression breaking for an instant to reveal a wide smirk. He didn't give Téa the chance to respond before he leaned in and replaced the finger that had been against her lips with his own mouth, backing her against another table and leaning her back against it.

Her fingers were back in his hair again, tangling in it and massaging against the base of Seto's skull and neck, eliciting a warm tingle that stretched from his top to his bottom.

When they parted a few moments later -the library still and silent as it had been before- Téa's spoke again, though her voice was breathier and quieter than before.

"Give me one reason--"

"Because it's beneficial to us both." Seto interrupted. "Because you don't care what other people think. Because it's one thing to say what you want, but it's another to actually go out and find it instead of waiting for it to come to you. Because eventually I'll figure out how to rub you the right way." Something in his tone of voice was quite unlike anything Téa had heard before, and he couldn't help but be a bit embarrassed that those words -laced with implication- were directed at HER.

"You didn't let me finish," Téa said in a whisper, staring at Seto with an odd expression on her face. For the first time, he was the one unable to decipher HER look, instead of the other way around.

"Give you a reason to...?"

"To make this real and not just a convenient lie," Téa said, and this time she was the one that backed Seto against a table as she kissed him -hard and fierce, with HER hands rubbing up his chest and arms, and her hips pressing into his.

Their lips were barely a centimeter apart when Seto gave her his answer: "I think you've already got your reason."

Comments

[geniusgirl.livejournal.com]

Wow. I got the email about this ages ago but I just got around to reading it and WOW. I ♥ you. For serious real.

It was perfect and everything I wanted to see and more (because I'm a Fluff addict, I don't deny it). Perfectly in tune with the first piece and a great, great bit of closure :D

I almost feel guilty for doing what I'm doing with your request >.> But I can't spoil an unfinished fic so you understand, right?

As usual, I loved it ^__^

[azurite]

Thrills! I had such a hard time with this one (saved the best for last?) because while I had a vague idea of where EYWB might have gone, I didn't really PLAN it in any sense (i.e. leave an obvious hanger). So I'm glad that it generally worked out. I just got the idea of everyone making a big deal out of what they'd seen, drawing love umbrellas, and generally making trouble for Téa (via Joey and the other guys, of course, who wouldn't have witnessed the scene nor believed it from the gossip). So I wanted Téa to have to try and explain that she both WAS and WASN'T really dating Kaiba, nor did she like him. But she couldn't have it both ways-- thwarting off the guys who wanted her *AND* pacify her friends. Hence... what you got. :)