It was not the silence, but the emptiness that threatened to spill over to tears as Yami raised an aggitated hand and clawed his bangs back from his forehead. Sighing, Yami shut his eyes, and uneasily smiled politely at Mokuba, before he took a distancing sip of his drink and gestured for Mokuba to continue.

Mokuba sighed as well, gently set the glass down, and then, looked directly into Yami's eyes. "I'm sorry, Yami. I didn't just come here to purge my soul, I just...." Mokuba's shoulder hitched in apology, as he gave Yami a trembling, broken smile. "I know that you lost somebody too,Yami." Yami tensed, blinking back the sudden wet that blurred his vision. Mokuba uneasily bit his lip, hesitating before he continued,softly.
"I didn't think that you knew this, Yami, but there were only three people in the world that Seto felt safe enough to openly discuss his illness with. Out of everybody that knew him, Yami, there was only three. Roland, me....and you."

The last words were little more than breath as Mokuba paused for a moment, to allow the depth of his announcement to sink in. Yami's flinch was bone deep when he felt Mokuba's hand gently clap over his shoulder, linger, and then fall. There were long moments of silence as Yami blinked furiously, and bowed his head. Mokuba only shook his head, gave Yami a soft, sad smirk.

Yami's shoulders hitched in answer, he was unable to speak. Mokuba nodded in understanding, as he sat back down so he could look into Yami's eyes. Mokuba trailed off, before forcing himself to continue.
"Yami, the two hardest things for my brother to say was that he was sorry, and that he was wrong. That's why he wanted you to come, Yami. To tell you that he was sorry for the rivalry and the snide remarks, and basically being a pompous ass for so long. He...didn't want to leave without letting you know that."

There was nothing but that long, long pause as Yami swallowed down the sudden tightness in his throat.
Calmly, he lay his palms down against the table, drew two breaths, steadied himself against the sudden onslaught of thoughts that fell like an avalanche.

"Did he know that, Mokuba?" Yami's fists clenched against the glass, as he braced himself for the answer.

Mokuba's answer was slow, and laced with compassion, as he tilted himself forward, and sighed. "Yami." Mokuba said gently, "I know that Seto struggled so much to come to grips with his own ending. I know that he struggled with things that I can't even begin to fathom, and it was hard as hell for me to watch my brother suffer through all of that. Even now, knowing that his pain is over with, and that he's at peace.
it still keeps me up at night....remembering. " Mokuba paused for strength as he bit his lip.

"It was hard for Seto, Yami. It was so...damn...hard." His voice trembled off into another hitched breath.
"But, it would have been impossible for him, and me, to go through that, without your help. Please, don't treat all that you did for him as if it were a casual chat, or dismiss it. Yami, you were there for Seto when nobody else was, and you helped him in ways that nobody else could have done. I wanted you to know that. More importantly, I promised Seto that I'd let you know that as well."

Mokuba uneasily placed the envelope on the counter between them, and watched Yami's eyes widen to see his name scrolled out in Seto's unmistakable, elegant script.

"Seto asked me to give you this, Yami, with the full understanding that it's nothing less than a token of gratitude that you could probably use. I hope you don't mind, but I'd appreciate it if you opened it after I go."

Yami quirked an eyebrow at that, looked up at Mokuba, in suprise, but lay the envelope back down with an understanding nod. "You have my word."

Mokuba glanced up at the clock over their heads, and curled his lip at how much time had already passed.
"There is one other thing, Yami." Mokuba pensively set his boot heels on the floor, and announced bluntly,
"I'm leaving Domino."

Yami jerked at that, stared at Mokuba, and then, gave him a small, sad smile of acceptance.
"May I ask why you're leaving?"

Mokuba shrugged, gestured towards the darkening sky outside, before he turned back to Yami, the tears rising again. "It's not just a matter of escape, Yami. The pain of losing my brother runs far, far too deep for me to run away from it. I can't ignore it, escape it, or pretend it doesn't exist. The only thing I can really do right now is learn to live with it. I don't know if it's going to be any easier to do that if I'm somewhere where I'm not quite so...haunted by the memories, but I have to try. Leaving Domino is going to be hard, Yami.
But I know now it's impossible for me to stay."

Yami nodded, slowly. "And you do not intend to return, do you?"

Mokuba bit his lip, and shook his head. "I honestly don't know, Yami, if I'll ever be back. It's going to take me a long time to work through some things, and I know that if I'm ever going to live life again,...I have to accept that." Mokuba scowled up at the clock, made an apologetic gesture towards it.

"I'm sorry, Yami, but I need to get going if I'm going to catch my flight." Mokuba rose from the stool, stooped to gather up his things, as Yami quietly slid him a can of his favorite soda across the counter.

"One for the road?" Mokuba asked, as Yami shook his head,wryly. "One for the journey, Mokuba. "

Mokuba grinned, slid the can into the pocket of his suitcase, but lingered in the doorway. Yami came out from behind the counter,
and to Mokuba's suprise, took his hand, and clasped it between his own. Mokuba felt Yami's earnest, steady handshake of farewell.

"I wish you peace, Mokuba, in whichever form you find it." Yami stiffened in suprise when Mokuba embraced him. Mokuba stepped back, gave Yami a teary-eyed smile, and nodded. "Thank you, Yami. Thank you so much." Mokuba pivoted on a heel, turned towards the door, and waved. "I'll keep in touch, Yami. Take care."

And, with the jingle of the bells over the door, and a last smile, Mokuba was gone.

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