Dedicated to my friend Moon (aka Moonluster), the indomitable writer behind The Blue String of Fate (amongst others), who inspires me to keep striving forwards, both in writing and in life. More notes at the bottom (:

"You're quiet today."

"I'm thinking, that's all."

"Moping."

"It's not that. I'm just thinking."

"Thinking about something sad." Her voice bubbles like water over stones in a brook, but her eyes, sapphire-blue, are open wide and focused on him.

His shoulders heave with an enormous sigh. "About life," he says finally. "About how our days are numbered."

Her eyes are twin lakes, silent and still as they reflect the midnight sky. She tucks a strand of silvery hair behind her ear, thinking for a long moment. "I suppose," she says thoughtfully. "Do you believe in something after the End?"

"Nothing is built to last." The words cut like knives, slicing into the thoughtful stillness that surrounds Kisara. Her head jerks back in surprise, and she bites her pale pink lip. He frowns knowingly, turning away from her. "My family...Gozaburo's empire…the title of King of Games...my eternal rival. Pfft, nothing is eternal. The sun rises to set again."

He can feel her solemn gaze on his turned cheek, and uneasiness ripples like the rising of the tides in her usually calm energy. He dares not turn his head, because he is afraid to see the sadness his words have brought to her. He is the dark, ominous winds that signal an oncoming storm-unwanted, unanticipated, too powerful to deny. He hates that he brings darkness and-even worse-pity with him, wherever he goes.

No wonder he shut himself away for years.

Fingertips graze his collarbone, soft and cool as fresh water. Caught off-guard, he swallows his breath, and Kisara glides around him until she stands in front of him, one delicate hand rested under his jaw.

Kisara's voice is soft and lyrical, rising and falling like gentle waves upon a shore. "You know that humans are incapable of grasping the concept of infinity?"

His lips purse in confusion, and he tilts his head slightly, waiting for her to go on.

"We can't comprehend the idea of forever. We know that it exists, but we can never know forever-because we are finite beings. Little dots in space. A tiny blip on the timeline." She smiles gently and leans forwards; he shivers as her soft, full lips graze his ear. "If we can't know forever-how can you make such a bold statement?"

She's clever, he has to give her that. Despite himself, his lips press together into a slight smirk. "You're not as wise as you think you are," he responds, finding himself trembling as Kisara's breath tickles his ear.

She takes a step back, resting her palms on his knees, and laughs playfully at him. Her silver-white hair spills gracefully over her shoulders and spills into his lap. "I didn't claim to know anything about forever," she points out, her dark eyes narrowing playfully.

His laugh is short-it might be mistaken for a sharp exhalation of air-but a weight is exhaled along with it. "What do you know, then?"

She balances herself on her tiptoes as she leans in to kiss him. "I love you," she says simply. "That's enough for me, right now. Can it be enough for you?"

Warmth wells up inside of him, and as their lips meet, he is flooded with her light. "I love you, too."

I've never been terribly attached to the title of Extras. I feel like 50 Shades of Grey ruined all color-related titles, but I...like this title? I dunno.

Writing these one-shots took has taken on a life of it's own. I've learned so much about literary devices, my own voice as a writer, and a lot of random other things in between. This was always intended to be a bit of a compendium of sorts, so I'm thinking of sort of splitting this into two works-one that fit into a "relationship-building" chronology of how Seto and Kisara meet, court, and become a couple, and that path towards self-actualization (expanding on the huge gaps with new content!) and keeping a handful of the chapters in this work as little standalone one-shots, primarily dialogue-based fluff.

As always, I appreciate everyone who reads this, and reviews always make my day, because I'm a human and I crave validation constantly.

Hope you're having a great day! Love as always,

Mei