"Have you ever ridden before?" Zero asked Serenity as he turned the corner to the barn.

"Yes, when I was a girl," she replied sweetly as they walked in. About an hour ago, she had answered her door to find the tall boy waiting, seemingly too pale to be soaking up the sunlight like he was. Once he knocked, he stepped back from the door, turning sideways and pocketing his hands as he looked toward the bright sky. He turned when he heard her delicate, "Hello?" and reintroduced himself, then asked, "Would you like to come horseback riding with me?" and now here they were.

When Lily saw Zero with another girl, she started to snort and throw a bit of a fit. "Easy, easy Lily," he said as he approached her. Serenity stood back, a little nervous due to the unfriendly horse. Zero hopped the half-wall and went to Lily, patting her to calm her down. "Come on Lily, she's our guest, be nice. Or do you not want to know who the people in my life are?" Lily settled down, but left Serenity with a threatening glare. "This is Lily. She's a pretty protective of me. She'll come in here to be able to see what's going on whenever she hears anyone. But you'll be riding Valentine. Val!" he called, then explained, "She likes to play outside... And she's a redhead, too."

Val came trotting in happily. "Valentine, that's nice. Why did you name her that?" Serenity asked curiously.

"I didn't," Zero answered. "Mea did."

"Mea?" Serenity echoed.

"Yeah, she gave her to me for Valentine's day. You know Jemmea," he said, thinking that maybe she just hadn't heard him.

"Oh!" said Serenity, getting it. "You mean Jem! I've never heard her called 'Mea,' before, that's cool. You must know a side of her that nobody else does."

"Yeah," replied Zero. "I guess." Zero then started to prepare the horses, Serenity helping. Once they were done he patted the white mare again. "Ok Lily, you about ready? Will you try not to throw me this time?" Lily bowed her head, a little ashamed.

Zero then turned to Serenity, going to stand right in front of her. "Ok, let me check your helmet." He lifted his hands, touching the sides and trying to wiggle it, but also brushing against her soft hair as she looked up at him with her bright eyes. "Seems good. You ready?"

"Aren't you going to wear a helmet, too?" Serenity encouraged.

"I didn't plan on it," replied Zero.

Serenity went over and retrieved another helmet. "Come on. If I have to wear one, you have to wear one too!" She reached up to place it on his head, but their height difference made her have to move in close to reach all the way, practically pressing her body against his. He looked down at her as she focused on putting the helmet on, clipping the straps under his chin. She then moved her hands back up to check if it was secure. Her fingertips rested on the helmet just above his ears, her palms touching the sides of his face. This girl was sweet, caring, assertive, and adorable—and he couldn't take his eyes off her. He reached up and placed one of his hands over hers.

She then looked into his face instead of at the helmet. "What is it?" she asked. But he didn't answer right away, just looked at her. She softened her stance a little as she saw this, beginning to gaze back at him.

He finally answered with a slight, warm smile on his face, "It's nothing, everything is fine. How is the helmet?"

The lady of the Kaiba household flipped over to do a last lap on her back. She took her time, relaxing, making slow, even strokes. Under the water, her hair fluttered open like a blossom with each pause in stroke. Her husband was not home yet, working late as usual—but he seemed to be able to go back with a fresh energy every day now, and Jem had no idea why.

Mrs. Kaiba, however, had trouble sleeping without her nightly walk, and she really could not have such walks in her new home. However, she now had an indoor pool, and was able to replace the walks with swims.

She spun to her front just as she reached the end, touching the soft marble edge of the pool. As she hoisted herself up, water poured from her body, her seemingly feather-like hair was now straight and weighted with the draining water. She found the towel and quickly dried off, knowing she was only going straight for the shower.

That was the next part of her routine. She would go take a warm shower in the master bath, then dry off and get ready for bed. Once she was relaxed, clean, and dry, she would climb into her and her husband's comfy bed and snuggle up with her book. And this is where Kaiba would come home to find her. For a while, he had kept forgetting that she would be there, so caught up in his work and regular routine. Then he would walk into his room, stressed and exhausted and ready to just call it a night, solely resting to do more work. But now when he walked in, he would see her there, and would pause, looking her over for a minute as he started to undress and get ready for bed.

He now remembered she would be there almost every day, and on long days seeing her there was something he looked forward to. She was almost always asleep now, with the light still on and her thumb limply in her book, as though she were trying to wait up for him. It had now become a part of his routine to walk over as he started to undo his clothes, take the book from her hand before inserting the bookmark, and quietly set it on her nightstand. Then he would turn to finish getting ready for bed and climb in alongside his wife, reaching over her to turn off the light.

But tonight was different. Once he set the book aside, he couldn't take his eyes off her. He loved her. He loved having her. He loved seeing her there, peaceful and serene. He sat next to her, bringing his knee up on the bed as he turned his body toward her. He brushed the silky strands away from her face and she stirred, slowly rolling to her back, her legs crossed and hips still slanted towards him.

"Seto?" she said softly as she awoke, opening her eyes slightly to look at him. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he replied dryly. He extended his hand, brushing the side of her face. "Not a thing." She smiled with this news, closing her eyes and turning to kiss the hand that now adored her face. She opened them again slightly as she turned back to look up at her husband. The turmoil that normally plagued his blue eyes was replaced by a tranquility as he gazed down at her.

When he pulled away to finish readying himself for the night, Jem did not roll back over and close her eyes. Instead, she stayed still, watching her husband through her narrowly opened eyes as he busied himself. It wasn't until he was finally crawling into bed that she turned back over.

Sliding under the covers, he moved past his own side of the bed to lay alongside her. After he gently closed in on her, he placed a hand on her hip and slowly started to again run it up along one of his favorite lines. As he did, he hooked his thumb under her shirt to continue to feel the soft skin of his wife's body (which he never, ever grew tired of). He stopped and rested his hand when he reached her ribs. From there, her hair lay before his face, her intoxicating scent luring him closer.

He used his hand to tenderly pull himself just a little closer to her, pressing a kiss to her shoulder, to which her reaction was a small, blissful hum. He continued to trail kisses inwardly along her shoulder, extracting his hand to gently pull her camisole strap down over her shoulder, out of his way.

As he approached her neck, she reached a hand around her head, using each finger to hook a different strand of hair, pulling it away and fully exposing her neck to him. The empty scar tissue was invisible against her already white skin, easily allowing Kaiba to forget the incident and adore it again as his own.

As he reached this favorite area, he slid his hand forward to her front, just under her bust. He pulled her against him, encompassing her even more. This sure as hell was a better way to go to bed than irritated and frustrated by the burdens of his day. Now it was easier for him to go to bed, and actually stay there. Before he would typically lie awake, eventually wandering to his home office in the middle of the night, plagued by work and ideas. Now there was something else to focus on, something much more enticing keeping him exactly where he wanted to be.

As he worked his way up to her ear, he decided that he could admit it again, in the privacy of their own intimacy. He had admitted it to himself more than enough times now, and she was the only one who needed to hear it. She lay awake to enjoy his small motions, and felt his breath in her ear before hearing her favorite of his rarities. Devotedly, he whispered, "I love you."

She smiled and reached her hand back in response, placing it on the back of his neck as he placed a final lasting kiss on the top of her head. Finally, he reached over her and turned off the light. He settled back in and lay everything to rest. In the dark came her soft, euphoric voice, "I love you too, Seto. More than anything."

He smiled. Everything was finally how he wanted it to be.

So, that's it. Are you all satisfied? Because I happen to have a two part epilogue, if you're interested...
What did you think of all that?