Chapter 10

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Over the week, Kaiba and Serenity barely spent any time apart. Their relationship had become public knowledge after the incident with the gangsters and the media lit up. They had spent most of their time indoors, over each others houses, but there was no escaping them on Sunday. When it finally came by, Kaiba was full of the jitters.

He showed up early to Serenity's house and she wasn't quite ready yet. She was still in the bathroom when her father answered the door. John set out some things to much on and chatted idly with Kaiba. Joey stayed inside his room, not up to dealing with Kaiba's intrusion on their special day.

"I hope we beat the rain." John said, making small talk. The same thought had been on Kaiba's mind the whole time. "If only Serenity would hurry up." He said loud enough to be heard through the wall. They heard a bang and a loud 'omph' and they both stared at the wall.

"Sorry." they heard, muffled through the door and both of them chuckled. A few more minutes and Serenity finally appeared. She had her hair up and was apologizing profusely. She gave a kiss on the cheek to her father and a gentle hug to Kaiba. He was still sore, but his wounds were healing up well.

John called Joey out, who was under strict orders not to be mean at all. He didn't say a word, which shocked Kaiba, but he wasn't about to ruin the moment. When they went to leave the house, the media was waiting. Kaiba sighed heavily and Serenity resisted the urge to use him as a shield. He looked down at her and smirked.

"What, now you're ashamed of me?" He asked. She squeaked and looked up at him, then took his arm and walked beside him. Joey and John followed behind.

Suddenly a raindrop plunked Serenity on the nose and she looked up at the cloudy sky, then around to the reporters.

"Maybe we should do this some other time." She suggested. John was about to object when Kaiba spoke up.

"No." He said almost to quickly. Serenity John and Joey all paused and looked at him. "It's just a little water." He explained. In reality he'd been looking forward to this day for a few reasons. Serenity smiled up at him, earning a few shots from a camera.

Kaiba had offered for them to use a limo, but John preferred to use his car, so Joey took the front seat and Kaiba and Serenity rode in the back. Serenity attempted a few times to make small talk, but the only one who engaged was John. She felt a little uncomfortable with her brother and boyfriend in the same confined space and not talking. She almost laughed to herself as she thought about how ridiculous it was that she almost missed their arguing.

When John pulled up there were even more reporters waiting by the cemetery.

"Is no place sacred?" Kaiba sighed as he frowned.

"I guess it's the price I pay for letting my little girl date a billionaire." John laughed.

"Yeah well that's your choice." Joey muttered, loud enough to be heard. He got some bad looks from Serenity and John, but only rolled his eyes.

"He'll be silent soon enough." Kaiba said quietly. Serenity shot him a look, but he just moved forward.

They navigated the cemetery, but as they approached her plot, they began to get confused. They actually walked right past it and to the next one when Kaiba stopped.

"I thought you wanted to visit your mother." He said as they turned to face him.

"Yeah, but she's got just a..." Joey's eyes wandered over the grave Kaiba stood at. A large shrine stood, it seemed to be recently decorated and it had a small plaque in front of it. The plaque and the shrine both read 'April Wheeler'.

"Seto... you... you did this?" Serenity's eyes were glued on the shrine.

"You said you wanted to honor her more, but you just didn't have the money. You don't have to worry about that anymore. I also took care of the balance on the plaque. So you can focus on whatever debts you need to pay off." Kaiba glanced over to John. He stood silently, tears in his eyes and nodded.

"What... what the hell are ya doin?" Joey finally spoke. His face was red and wet, and everyone knew it was more than the rain dampening his cheeks. Kaiba looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "What game are ya playing? The Kaiba I know doesn't just do this shit. He doesn't care about anyone. So why?" Joey got in his face, eyes narrowing with accusations.

"That's because you don't know me. I never let you. I'm still against the idea. But I've decided to let Serenity know me. And by association, you're getting a glimpse too. I'm not the ass I want people to think I am. It's just easier if the entire world thinks I'm a self centered brat like the rest of them. I don't like my personal life and feelings written in magazines and newspapers for the world to see. Unfortunately, I don't think Serenity's willing to go through such extreme lengths to do the same. She'll be an open book." Serenity never heard a word. She touched the face of the shrine and held back a sob.

Finally she stood and brushed past her brother, embracing Kaiba. "If you want the whole truth, I did it because I actually care about her. If you cant accept it that's fine, but nothings going to change that." He said, hugging her.

"I need a minute..." Joey walked away, leaving the three and getting some air. John had lit the incense and was kneeling on the wet ground, praying. Serenity knelt next to him, following suit. When they were done, Kaiba took a knee, ready to start himself. Before he could begin, a hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up as Joey knelt beside him. "Listen." He said quietly while his sister and father chatted a few feet away. "I... I really do... appreciate what you've done... for my sister and my mother. She's happy now. She has been for a while. I guess I just wanna say... I'm-"

"I get it. Don't you have some praying to do?" Kaiba said, smirking. Joey chuckled quietly.

"Yeah... You know... You're not bad." And with that they both bent their heads and prayed.

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As usual, the final chapter is a short one. I don't know why I do it, but every story of mine, literally every one in the last nine years has had a short final chapter.

I'm glad that you've all read the fic and you all seemed to have enjoyed it. Thank you all so much for the reviews. I'm glad to have entertained you.

Also, it's been brought to my attention that this fic is very similar to a series of one shots on . I haven't looked into it yet, but I'm sure the story/stories are similar. I found this story on the hard drive of a computer I owned about five years ago, from when I first wrote it. It was a lot longer and there was a lot more filler in it, but I've edited it due to my poor writing. Back then there were a lot of stories about "dirty nights in the blimp" and I got sick of reading all of the "Kaiba looked at the new girl and immediately fell in love so hard his IQ dropped" stories. I had wanted to make one where he used her, got addicted to her, then slowly fell for her.

I have not stolen or plagiarized any work from another author. This is an original fic that I wrote a long time ago. It is completely of my own creation. If someone else has a similar story, then apparently we have similar tastes and I'd like to read more of their fics.

Sorry for the rant and thanks again for all the reviews and comments

R+R+E~L

*** Update, I've just finished reading the oneshots and there are a few key similarities. Both of the stories are from around the same times, mine only being a few months older, but the similarities are only in method of Serenity and Kaiba starting to get frisky. (He walks in on her doing naughty things and calling out for him lol) and in the last one where he agrees to be her boyfriend (typically how SxS fics end) the stories are different.

Like I said, this story is a rewrite too. I've removed all of Malik (who played a huge part in the original) and a few of the fluff chapters that were just poorly written. Once again, sorry if I confused you. I did not write the oneshots, I did not copy them, this is my own work. It's just got similarities.