"Just the two of us, we can make it if we try,

Just the two of us, just the two of us.

Just the two of us, building castles in the sky,

Just the two of us, you and I."

Just the Two of Us by Will Smith

XIV

She was nervous… frightened, even. She wasn't sure why. It couldn't have been that she was scared… right? After all, what did she have to fear? All she was doing was sitting in a restaurant waiting for Seto to show up for their date. That was when Kisara buried her face into her hands. She couldn't believe she was about to be on a first date with thee Seto Kaiba… or was it a second date? Obviously the romantic helicopter ride was a date because Seto had said it was… sort of. Nevertheless, she hadn't known it was a date to begin with so maybe that meant it wasn't the real first date and this was.

Just thinking about whether she was about to be on a first or second date was making her nervous, taking up the glass of water on the table and downing half of it as she looked around. The fact that the most popular restaurant in Domino City was currently empty as she was sitting here didn't ease her nerves either. She had tried asking one waiter upon entering why no one was around but he was reluctant to answer. She wondered if she was about to be murdered and again, her thoughts spiraled into questions and worries that seemed more and more outrageous the more she thought about them.

As the clock struck seven exactly, Seto walked in wearing a simple black suit and tie, but looking absolutely dashing nonetheless. Kisara rose from her seat. Seto was clearly surprised to see her at the restaurant, already seated. Kisara was wearing a simple black dress that fit her well and made her look stunning. Seto was determined not to let Kisara's looks distract him, though.

"Kisara, you're early again. Did you mishear the time set for dinner?" Kisara shrugged.

"Oh, you know me… always getting those bus times wrong."

"We could've solved this problem had you let me pick you up." Kisara looked away, crossing her arms behind her back and clearly embarrassed.

"I just didn't think it was proper. Not yet, at least." It was quiet between them until Seto broke the silence.

"Well, why don't we sit down and order dinner?" Seto gestured for Kisara to sit down before snapping his fingers. Within seconds, a waiter arrived by their side.

"Can I start you two off with something to drink?"

"I'd like some more water, if you wouldn't mind," Kisara said, sheepishly.

"Same." Kisara waited for the waiter to leave before speaking up again.

"So what's with the empty restaurant? Is it a national holiday for everyone else except us or something?"

"Nope, I just rented out the restaurant for the evening. I don't like to hear the pointless chatter of other people while I eat."

"Oh, I see…" Kisara looked around at the vacancy of the restaurant. Now knowing that she wasn't being set up to be murdered, she could fully take in the beauty and sophistication of the restaurant. It was probably the classiest restaurant she had ever been in, she realized. "This is quite a restaurant. Have you been here before?"

"Maybe once or twice in my life, but not recently," Seto got comfortable in his seat before leaning forward and taking a swig of ice water, "So, shall we get started with this 'getting to know each other' business?" Kisara straightened herself in her seat. Seto had only been sitting down for five minutes and already the date was getting awkward. Maybe it was because he was trying to conduct their date as if it were a business meeting? Kisara couldn't be sure, she was too nervous to tell.

"Oh, okay. Sure. What do you want to know?"

"So you're from Egypt." Seto voice was so cold and direct; Kisara almost didn't know what to say next. It took her a few moments to respond.

"Cairo, Egypt. I'm from there… born and raised." Kisara looked around the room nervously, "Any other questions?"

"I know you have parents, so what about siblings?"

"No siblings, just me. Speaking of siblings, how's Mokuba taking to all of this?" Seto leaned back in his seat.

"He's fine with it. In fact, he's happy about the whole thing. He was beginning to worry I wouldn't—" Seto suddenly seemed uncomfortable, "I suppose he was worried I wouldn't ever find someone I was slightly… you know where I'm going with this." All was quiet between them once again. They sat there, blank-faced, trying to look at everything except each other. Instead, they looked at the menu, gave their orders to the waiter, and tried again at conversation.

"I'm sorry this isn't the greatest date but you have to understand that I've never done this before. I don't know what I'm supposed to do or talk about," Seto said, breaking the silence with his own humility. The first sign of Seto being human caused Kisara to smile and to see her smile, caused Seto to follow suit.

"It's really okay, Seto. I understand. I'm sure I'm not much help to the situation either, it's kind of been a long time since I've been on a date before."

"You mean since you and that boyfriend broke up, right?" Kisara looked up.

"I think that's a conversation for another night."

"Oh yes, of course. I'm sorry," Seto had to think of something quick to talk about that was neutral. How could he have forgotten not to bring up the ex-boyfriend on the first date? He had gotten curious, he supposed, but now he was faced with the problem of talking about something else that wasn't about the weather. Seto looked up as the food was being served.

"Enjoy," the waiter said, giving a little bow before turning away and leaving. It was then that Seto thought of something.

"Do you enjoy living alone?" Kisara stopped just before taking her first bite.

"What?"

"I mean, what's it like living alone?"

"Oh… um… wouldn't you know? I mean, you basically live on your own. Although I suppose Mokuba's there, so it doesn't count." Kisara sighed and tried to think of a way to describe it. "I guess it's okay. The only thing that's hard is that it's so expensive and being broke all the time can be really stressful." Seto gave Kisara a quizzical look.

"You're completely supporting yourself? What about your parents, won't they help you?"

"Oh, they do. They send me what they can but money's sort of tight since my grandparents live with them so it's hard. All the money they do send, though, I'm saving for business school," Kisara said with pride, "What about you? What are you doing after high school?" Seto crossed his arms and smirked.

"Nothing. I'll graduate, continue running my company, take care of my brother, and live out the rest of my life. Those are my plans." Kisara chuckled.

"I'm not going to lie, that does sound like a pretty good deal. Maybe someday we'll be running rival companies."

"What? You want to run a gaming company?"

"I do love the game." Seto perked up in his seat, astonished and impressed.

"You do?" Kisara laughed.

"Well, I used to love it when I was a kid. Then people stopped playing with me so I stopped too. It has been a while but I still know how to play. We should definitely duel some time. I'll beat you for sure," Kisara said with a wink. It was then that Seto laughed a real genuine laugh. Kisara hadn't heard a real genuine laugh out of Seto in all the time she had been working for him and it made her feel like they were really beginning to connect.

"I'd love to know what your parents think of you wanting to run a gaming company."

"My parents are actually fine with it. They're laid back like that. It's my grandfather who still isn't convinced of the idea."

"Oh? What does he think you should do instead?" Kisara sighed.

"I don't know and I don't think he knows either. I guess maybe he still remembers what Kaiba Corp. used to be and doesn't agree with what it is now. You know how old people are, they hate change." Seto put down his fork and became very serious. Kisara was still focused on the food in front of her and hadn't noticed. "Speaking of your step father… what ever happened to him? Wasn't he the old CEO of Kaiba Corp.?"

"He's dead." Kisara stopped what she was doing and looked up. The expression on Seto's face had completely changed since she had last seen him laughing.

"He's dead? But I thought I read somewhere that he disappeared…"

"Nope, he's definitely dead."

"Oh… I'm sorry," Kisara wasn't sure what else to say. She hadn't been thinking when she had initially brought it up. Though to be fair, she wasn't fully aware of the condition of Seto's relationship with his step father, Gozaburo. Nobody knew. No one had ever gotten close enough to ask.

"It's alright… but that, too, is a conversation for another night." Kisara nodded in agreement. Despite getting the sense that this was unmarked territory of conversation, she felt there was one question she needed to ask.

"So if your parents and step father are dead… who's left?"

"I don't have anyone," Seto stated firmly, "Technically, I have aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. but when my parents died, the only thing they were interested in was my parents' savings and assets. They didn't even care about my brother and me… so when we were sent to the orphanage, I disowned my family and told my brother we had no one but each other."

"That's terrible… did none of them try to contact you?"

"It wasn't until I became one of the wealthiest men in Japan that they became interested in having a relationship with us, but it was too late. By then, I had spent more than half my life living on my own with my brother, so there was no need to pretend I suddenly wanted a family."

"Did Mokuba want to have a relationship with them?"

"I never asked. I simply told him that they weren't our family and he never argued. It wasn't like Mokuba had ever known anything different… I've basically been raising him since he was born."

"Wow. That must've been hard for you…" Kisara looked down.

"What? Cutting them off? Not at all, they had it coming…"

"No, I mean… to take care of yourself and your brother without any help at such a young age."

"I wouldn't say that…" Seto said, looking down at the knife in his hand, deep in thought, "I've been taking care of Mokuba basically since he was born. My mother died giving birth to him and my father died five years later in a car accident. I was the only one who took care of him. I dropped out of school for a while just so I could."

Kisara said nothing. Seto seemed to be in another place, lost in a train of memories as he stared blankly down at the table, "I never regretted it. I don't regret a single thing I've done for him… I would've never known what it means to care for or be cared for by another person if it weren't for him. I honestly don't know what I'd do without him… which makes him my greatest weakness, a weakness others exploit when they want to get to me." Seto slammed the knife down onto the table, causing Kisara to jump.

Seto looked up, the noise breaking him out the trance of recollection he had been in. He blinked his eyes in bewilderment, "I think I had originally planned for that story to be for another night as well. I'm sorry to darken the mood." Kisara gave him an assuring nod to let him know it was okay.

They continued talking for a while, bringing the conversation back to more neutral topics. They talked long after they had finished their meals and longer than they had planned to stay out with one another. Conversing had suddenly become natural for them after that moment of brutal honesty, and they had had a fine time just sitting and learning more about each other.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we're going to have to close soon. Here's the check," the waiter said, slipping the check onto the table. Kisara and Seto both put their hands on the check and looked up. Seto chuckled.

"Kisara, you do realize this is a date, right? Allow me to cover the check."

"Of course…" Seto lifted his hand, just as Kisara pulled it away, "Right after I calculate how much I owe you. Her playful smile disappeared when she read the amount. "And from the looks of it, I may not be able to pay you back for a while." Seto snatched the check out of her hands.

"It's a date, Kisara, let me pay it."

"That wouldn't be fair, though… especially considering how much it cost."

"I know how much you make and there is no way I took us to the most expensive restaurant in Domino City just so you could pay your share." As Seto signaled the waiter to come back to retrieve the check along with Seto's credit card, Kisara handed him a napkin with "I O U" scribbled on it. Seto raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I know I don't make much, but I'm not a charity case." There was such seriousness in Kisara's voice when she spoke.

"This isn't charity, this is me… taking you out on a date and paying for dinner. I'd rather be remembered for our great conversations than for how much money you spent on dinner." The seriousness disappeared and Kisara smiled.

"Fine… but just this once. Next time, I'll make sure to save up a week's worth of my pay before we go on another date." Seto reached to put his credit card back in his wallet, but was stopped when Kisara placed her hand on his, "And… thanks, for dinner. It was really nice." She gave his hand a little squeeze before getting up from the table. She stopped suddenly and went digging into her purse, "Oh and I almost forgot." Kisara pulled out her wallet.

"Didn't we just agree you weren't going to pay for dinner?"

"No, it's not for that," Kisara handed him a check, "This is for my brace… the one you got me when I fractured my wrist. You told me that you wanted to be paid back, so here." Seto nodded, taking the check from her hand and putting it into his pocket without saying anything. Seto realized in that moment that he and Kisara shared a lot of the same values, something he feared would be the reason they couldn't work as a couple, if they ever became a couple.

Of course Seto had been afraid that Kisara was only interested in him for his money, but having known her long before actually going on a date, Seto never put much thought to it. What Seto admired in Kisara and himself was that she believed in fulfilling a debt. As a businessman, this was a trait Seto held to the highest standard and by paying back a debt from months ago, something Seto had long forgotten and never mentioned, proved Kisara to be something… compatible.

Seto pondered about it the whole ride home after dropping Kisara off. Something else he had noticed was that his hand, the one Kisara had squeezed, felt strange too. It took Seto until he parked his car in the driveway to realize he had had a first date… and a great first date at that. There was a faint smile on his face as he reflected on this, opening the front door to find his younger brother waiting for him.

"Nii-sama!" Seto dropped everything he was holding as Mokuba leaped into his arms, "I saw you pull up in the driveway. How was the date?"

"Mokuba, it's nearly eleven o'clock at night. Why are you still up? Where's Isono?"

"Right here, Mr. Kaiba," Isono came from the living room, picking up the car keys and various other items that Seto had dropped. "I tried putting him to bed, several times, actually. He just wouldn't stay there… he was determined to see you upon your return from your date with Ms. Safiya."

"Yeah… you gotta tell me all… about it…" Mokuba had gone limp in Seto's arms as sleep was starting to overcome him. Seto adjusted Mokuba in his arms as he took off his shoes and headed upstairs.

"Sorry, kid. It's bed time." Mokuba hardly put up a fight but was still resistant.

"I'm thirteen years old… I'm not a baby anymore…" Mokuba mumbled into Seto's shoulder, falling deeper and deeper into sleep as Seto reached Mokuba's room. He smiled and gently placed Mokuba into bed. "I can stay up… as long as I want… I'm a teenager…" Seto pulled the covers over Mokuba and delicately tucked him into bed.

"No matter how old you get, you'll always need your rest and you'll always be my baby brother." Seto leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, turning out the light and walking towards the door.

"Nii-sama…" Seto stopped and turned around.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

A/N: FINALLY THIS IS DONE! GAHHH, that took way longer than I thought it would! Hey all! Kari here with this two day late update coming to you at the tail end of finals week. I actually worked on/finished this chapter in the time I was supposed to be studying for my last final but hopefully I'll magically be able to get a good grade on it and be done with this semester forever! I knew ahead of time getting this chapter out to you on time (on the 12th) was a bit of stretch due to finals week but I tried. I almost succeeded too! Alas, I needed more time to make this chapter just right. Also, if anyone of you know, the song I quoted at the beginning, isn't it just the cutest song ever? It's always reminded me of Seto and Mokuba. :) Anyway, thanks for reading and review and being awesome! Talk to you again in a month (this time it'll be on time for sure)! Thanks again for the reviews! :D