"I guess I'll see you at my apartment later," Yugi waved off to Seto as the two finished another trial run of his recent developments for his new game. He started furiously typing up today's report into a database, expecting Seto to simply comply and leave. To his surprise, Seto remained by his side.

"Why would I be at your apartment?" Seto inquired.

"For Kisara's house warming party? It's just the usual group though. Nothing big."

"Oh. I won't be there," Seto shortly answered. He had nearly forgotten Kisara was supposed to live with Yugi. He had been ignoring her for a while that he never knew if she had already.

"I don't see why you wouldn't go. You've been around us for so long. I know Mokuba isn't here anymore, but it's not like you hate everyone," Yugi mentioned and stopped typing. He looked over to his side to see Seto not even paying attention to him. The CEO was blissfully playing Solitaire on the computer adjacent to Yugi's.

"Maybe I just don't care anymore without my brother's presence."

"We want you there even if Mokuba's gone."

"You don't speak for everyone."

"Well, I want you there. Pretty sure Kisara would since she asked you...wait, did she invite you?" Yugi asked with suspicion and one raised brow. He had only assumed she would from how amiable they appeared to be. He was going to have another headache if they were having some other complication that could easily be resolved if stubbornness didn't exist in both parties.

Seto glared at Solitaire, finding it a bore as a card game as he easily won against the computer. He carelessly admitted, "No. She didn't."

"But I remember her telling me that she would-"

"I've been ignoring her, including any texts or calls, these past two weeks. So, yes, maybe she has, but I wouldn't know," Seto unleashed with a bit of bitterness in his tone.

"Eh? What did she do to get the silent treatment?"

"Nothing I want to relay to you."

"Well if it's between you two, then settle it already."

"What are you? My mom?"

"No. Just a friend who doesn't like it when friends fight."

"Oh boohoo, spare me your friendship speech," Seto snidely stated. He finally exited out of Solitaire and reversed his head toward Yugi. The other man looked completely done, as if he was tired of Seto's usual attitudes.

"Sure. But I'll leave this," Yugi sighed as he started prepping his leave from work, "You're petty, Kaiba, and even if you're self-aware, you don't do anything to fix it yourself. You have my welcome to my apartment tonight, with or without Kisara's permission. I'll send you the address. If you don't come, at least reply back to her over text like a decent human being. See ya."

Seto quietly observed Yugi shuffle some papers together. He watched the other man slightly adjust his tie and wondered how much patience Yugi truly had. What did it mean to put up with Seto Kaiba outside of work relations? He rubbed his eyes, thinking of how he was going to last the final two hours of his shift. It was honestly, but secretly, a relief to be able to communicate normally with someone during his job. He opened his eyes to see Yugi nearly leave.

"One thing, Yugi...do you remember Mahad?"

Kisara had spent far too long trying to absorb the loneliness that invaded her when Serenity left for Tokyo days after Mokuba did. She frequently sauntered over to her former roommate's empty bedroom. Nothing was there. Soon, she too would move out.

She felt ashamed that she missed one person so deeply. Would Serenity miss her as much as Kisara missed her? Sitting on the barren floor of Serenity's bedroom, Kisara sifted through the photos she had of her and Serenity on her phone. Out of respect, she would not want Serenity to feel the same way.

There wasn't a day that went by without her showing her evident fondness for Serenity, and it wasn't like Serenity wasn't a simple text or call away. Although, sometimes texts and calls weren't enough to reach someone. Kisara's throat suddenly felt all caught up as her mind wandered. Her thumb navigated to her contacts page, and she was met with the pathetic history of missed calls to Seto Kaiba.

She tossed her phone to the side and laid on her side absentmindedly, contorting into a fetal position. She thought herself pathetic. Work at the café kept her busy and out of the apartment. She tried her best to project herself to nights out with her co-workers - when they would settle at a club or karaoke and drink the night away.

Kisara simply hated being alone in her empty apartment. She had already started packing her own belongings in order to prepare for the move to Yugi's. Piles of boxes in the living room and her own room made her sadder.

It hurt every morning to wake from a drunken slumber and realize there was no one to cook for and no one to expect. She had grown dependent on Serenity through both her company and taking care of her.

Being truly alone was scary. It had always been a fear manifested into paranoia when coupled with her strange hallucinations of random sounds and occasional visual conjurings of a figure in the corner of the room. The first night she was alone, she couldn't sleep at all. The rest of the nights were composed of her forcibly drinking herself to sleep or crashing at one of her co-workers' places. It felt like a regression to her previous ways.

Tonight was the last night before she would move to Yugi's, and she was grateful. Kisara slowly sat up, shaking her head at her pathetic independence. She really wanted nothing more than to quit her trend of avoiding loneliness. After perhaps ten minutes of aimless sitting, she finally had the guts to walk away from the room.

Perhaps she would cook instant noodles tonight. It was midnight, and it really was an awful idea to feast so late with something so awful for her health, but what young adult really cared? Kisara was about to stay her stove until she heard a rapping against her door. Her whole body froze.

Was she hearing things again? It wasn't like anyone to visit her this late. Kisara sighed and tried turning on her stove again, but the rapping continued. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing the sound to just disappear.

"Kisara! It's me!"

She opened her eyes and turned her stove off before walking towards her door. It couldn't be, could it? She checked the peep hole and chuckled a bit.

"Sora, what are you doing here?" She opened the door wide and smiled up towards her coworker. He was still dressed in the café shirt and looked as handsome as ever.

Sora explained, "I was worried about you after dropping you off. You seemed kinda off this past week or two. Also...I heard you've been sleeping over at places of some of the girls at work. Is something going on?"

"Nothing bad," Kisara denied. She never really told anyone else about her issues that arose after Serenity's leave. Despite Serenity sending her photos of Tokyo on the daily, and they had the occasional call, Kisara had no wish to show any signs of remorse. She had kept it all to herself, with no one she really wanted to bother. Except maybe one, but he wasn't having her.

"Maybe nothing bad, but there is something bothering you."

"The way you made that green tea frappuccino today bothered me," she joked in response, hoping to shift his focus. Sora rolled his eyes, but he laughed in good humor. She asked, "Why did you come all the way here to ask me if I was fine? A text would have been fine."

"I wanted to make sure you were actually alright. Anyone would say they're fine if you ask how they're doing," Sora rubbed his chin, wondering if he had it in him to explain further. He cleared his throat before confessing, "Also. Today was your last day at the cafe before you move on to modeling gigs from that fancy company you got into. The idea didn't hit me until I got home that...maybe I would miss you, and I would maybe miss your nagging about my drinks."

Kisara blinked at his sincerity. He was perhaps the closest co-worker that she ever had. He often drove her home and made sure she was always safe at home after work. They maintained a friendship filled with snide remarks and lighthearted antics, which was why she felt so odd during the moment. He was outside her door and for some reason, she didn't want to invite him in. She had been around enough times to know where this was going. She nervously laughed and said, "I'm going to miss you too, Sora. I don't know how you'll survive without me."

"Don't give yourself too much credit," he pointed out, "But, um, I'm also here because I wanted to ask if you're free some time? I don't want to...never see you again. Ha, awkward wording, huh?"

Sora was perhaps the most handsome man she ever met, and he was undoubtedly one of the sweetest too. As she investigated every aspect of his face, Kisara wondered why she wasn't saying yes so easily. She would have easily leapt at his request. If he asked her another time, she thought she would even invite him inside. Maybe he would even stay the night. She didn't want to lose his friendship, but she had no wish to suggest anything more.

"Um," Kisara wondered as she crossed her arms. Her figure leaned against the frame and settled, "Yeah, why not? I actually have a house-warming party at my new place tomorrow in the evening with a couple of my friends. Would you be interested?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Sora perked up. He rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "Then I suppose this is good night?"

"Good night, Sora."

"Night, Kisara."

Seto could have laughed as he found himself in the lot of Yugi's apartment complex. It was after another exhausting day of work, and usually, he had no wish to voluntarily go out of his way to socialize - especially when he was uninvited. He was genuinely debating whether or not he should just leave before he would make a fool of himself. Eventually, he was so sick of his self-arguments that he aggressively opened his car door.

"Shit!"

A female shriek arose. He nonchalantly glanced over to see someone slightly jump back from his sudden entrance into the world.

"God, that shocked me. You should take care of such a nice - oh," the woman's initially surprised face turned into one of horror.

Seto firmly shut his car door. He didn't know why the world hated him so much. His lips barely parted as he said, "I didn't know you were coming here."

"I wouldn't expect you here. More so than me."

"Yes, well, I didn't expect myself to be here either, but here I am."

"I'm assuming for," her voice slightly dithered as she pronounced, "Kisara?"

"Yugi," he corrected.

She saw him hold a gift bag in one hand. She silently nodded and said, "I see. I guess we're going up."

The two were quiet as they made their way to Yugi's apartment. It had been a couple years since the Mutos moved out of Kame Game Shop. The shop still existed and was in near proximity, but Yugi had earned enough money from dueling to buy a nicer place. There was also the issue that his grandfather had been ailing for a while. The two reached Yugi's door. Before any one of them knocked, what looked like a blonde Kuriboh to Seto shot out towards them, specifically towards the woman.

"Téa!" Joey joyfully screamed loud enough for the neighbors to complain. He excitedly said, "I missed you so much!"

Kisara had really done it now. She should have just said no in the first place. What was she thinking about inviting Sora? She felt the color in her face fade away into abject paleness, and she felt skin crawl. The autumn breeze didn't help comfort her as she found herself out on Yugi's balcony, with Sora.

And flowers.

He had a bouquet of red roses. Of all flowers, roses were the least subtle. She didn't despise him. Again, he was nice, remarkably handsome, and she really thought at any other instance, she would have easily fallen for him. The setting could even be defined as romantic. Yugi's apartment had a fairly nice view of some of the city, and Domino during the night had an air of mysticism and excitement that unfortunately amplified an atmosphere she didn't desire and only felt discomfort. Kisara watched Mai wave gleefully from the inside of the apartment through the glass doors, and the blonde woman eventually walked away while ushering Yugi and Joey off.

"S-Sora! Those, um, those flowers! Wow!" Kisara anxiously exclaimed as she dramatically clasped her hands together. Her paleness turned red, not from the romantic gesture, but from her own act. He stepped closer so she could receive the bouquet. The fragrance from the roses would have been pleasant, but at that particular moment, they smelt grotesque. She cautiously asked, "W-What are these for?"

"House-warming gift," Sora answered. He thought she was quite cute with her face flushed, but he had no idea how she really felt. One hand covered his mouth as he started chuckling.

"Well, thank you," Kisara softly said as she tried her best to just stare at the roses in order to ignore facing him. She nervously added, "Well, these will definitely look very...nice in the living room. Wow. This is a whole dozen roses sort of bouquet, huh? Haha!" Her head hurt from trying to form a cohesive compliment.

"Kisara…"

No. Please don't, Kisara mentally begged. Her eyes slowly met his beautiful ones. They were objectively attractive, but why did she feel uneasy?

"I really like you, Kisara," Sora gently continued, "I've never really confessed to someone like this. I know I'm younger than you, but it is by just two years. I just really enjoyed working with you, and I go to sleep every work night replaying our stupid conversations. I...know I'm probably ruining a decent friendship, but I want to take any chance I get. I don't think I'll be happy with myself if you disappear from my life."

Why didn't she like him back? His words barely connected with her head. This wasn't logical. A part of Kisara wanted to reciprocate his feelings because she wanted so badly to be loved. The biggest obstacle was that she was sure she couldn't be the one to love him back. Her arms tightened around the bouquet, as if the roses could just speak to her and tell her next lines.

"...So, Kisara. I was wondering if you'd go out with me? On an actual date."

Kisara's mouth opened before she was even ready to speak. Her throat felt dry as she found herself in a flurry of troubling emotions. It would be so easy to accept, and she could see herself enjoying time with Sora, and really, what was the point of being so hung up on some other guy that had left her hung out to dry the past two weeks? It couldn't possibly hurt to say "yes" and experiment, right? Unwarranted guilt bubbled inside of her at the idea, and she desperately searched for why she would feel guilty.

"Sora, I-"

A sharp sound promptly caused both Kisara and Sora to turn their heads. Someone had stepped out into the balcony. Kisara felt her heart rate accelerated even faster, and a cold sweat started to develop. She couldn't believe who had decided to magically appear, and she didn't know whether or not she should have felt relief or even more tension seeing Seto Kaiba. Uninvited.

Behind Seto, Yugi was quite adamant on trying to hold back a furious Mai - who was rather infatuated with the idea of Sora and Kisara being a thing. He made sure to slide the glass door shut in order to give the three privacy and relief from his own vehement arguments with Mai.

"Sora, I...I'll get back to you on that," Kisara quickly insisted as she went over to Sora and hurriedly shuffled him toward the door, to which Seto moved aside to let through.

"Eh? Wait, Kisara-" Sora began to protest.

"I'll tell you my answer tonight, haha! You should play some Smash Bros with my friends!"

Sora was confused as to why Seto Kaiba was there. Of all the people in the city, why the hell was the CEO of one of the most famous tech companies here? He shot Seto a dirty look as he found himself ushered inside. He reversed himself to give his last words, "Well...I'll look forward to it."

Kisara nodded her head with a relieved smile as she watched Yugi expertly distract Sora away. She quickly turned around to find herself not any less nervous as she was with Sora. She must have looked so dumb with a bouquet of roses in her arms, but she had no where on the balcony to place them.

"Nice flowers," Seto commented as he leaned against the railing, having a decent idea of the scene that had unraveled.

"Yeah…" she absentmindedly agreed. Kisara wasn't sure where she should begin.

"Are you and him-"

"No!" Kisara objected a little too quickly. That made him shut his mouth. Silence lasted for two seconds until a smirk cracked on his face. She poorly explained, "I mean, I never got to say no, but I think it'll definitely be a no. You know?"

"I don't know, actually," he chuckled as he noticed how ridiculous and ostentatious the roses appeared to be in comparison to her, "He doesn't seem terrible."

"Because I've been with worse?" Kisara poked fun at herself. She took in a huge breath before walking closer to him and rapidly saying, "Seto, I'm really sorry about what happened. I tried reaching out to you-"

"Stop," Seto demanded. He crossed his arms with one hand of his still holding onto the gift bag. Kisara clamped her mouth shut, dreading his response. Much to her surprise, he was less abrasive as he slowly declared, "I...was the one that stepped out of line."

"What? But I was the one that threw herself at you, and I must have confused you about your proposition. I should have at least explained my decision before blatantly stating it in front of Serenity," Kisara poured out as her hands started to tremble. She found that her jaw was starting to shake a little bit too as she continued, "I-I tried to make up for it by texting or calling you, but I guess you didn't want any of it."

Seto shut his eyes for a bit. He didn't want to hear this. Her tone got a bit more sadder in her last sentiment, and he didn't like that. He eventually said, "I didn't want any of it because I'm irresponsible with my guilt, Kisara."

"Guilt?" Kisara furrowed her eyebrows. He turned away from her to lean out of the balcony and treasure the decent view of the streets.

"You might have been quick to turn the offer down, but who am I to be mad at you? I shouldn't have felt as...offended. Your choice of living space is completely your own."

"It was generous of you to offer your place."

"Maybe," Seto slightly agreed before continuing, "but that doesn't excuse my pettiness, I suppose. I kept ignoring you because I can't properly deal with admitting I'm at fault. I didn't want to hear you apologizing for something not worth being sorry over."

"I still think I suggested agreement when we…" Kisara drifted off, unsure of how she would phrase their incident. Her gaze was lost on his back.

"So what if you did? You never explicitly agreed, so I shouldn't have been pissed in the first place," he brushed off. Seto turned back around and firmly suggested, "Also. You must have been really alone without Serenity."

Kisara wondered how he knew. Were they that in synch? Her head hung low, almost delving headfirst into the roses.

"I felt it too when Mokuba left," he confessed. Seto never thought he would admit that to anyone. As much as the world knew he loved his brother, it wasn't something he often verbally expressed in a serious form. He set aside his gift bag on the floor and decided to snatch away those deplorable roses away from her arms. Seto didn't think they fit her, and he suspected she believed the same.

Kisara's head shot up as she felt the roses ripped away from her. He had the respect to at least hold onto the bouquet.

Kisara bit her lip. She didn't want to tell the truth and make him feel worse than he already felt, but she knew she couldn't hide everything. Her hands covered her face as she felt her eyes start to prickle with unnecessary tears. Her mouth budged, "I couldn't sleep the first night or the last night. The nights in between, I had to pass out from alcohol or take some sleeping pills or both. Sometimes a coworker was nice enough to let me sleep over, but I would feel ashamed from asking in the first place." She felt her body lower, and she found herself crouching in a defeated position in reference to the horrors of the past two weeks. Her head still hung low, but her hands eventually released from her face. Her gaze remained on the ground as she decidedly concluded, "I don't want you to pity me, Seto. I don't want you feeling like you should have been there either."

"I can guarantee the former," Seto assuredly said before retorting, "but it's difficult to believe the latter when you left those voicemails. Some were comical but nonetheless, I figured I could have at least responded."

Kisara was further sent into shame as she recalled herself dialing his number multiple times, only to leave absurd voicemails with similar themes of asking the CEO over because of her desperate loneliness. She shook her head as she argued, "I need to learn to be by myself. Every adult can do it, and I can't just rely on someone else like Serenity...or you to be around."

"Well, not everyone has your condition."

Seto lowered himself too and placed the roses on the ground next to him. Her white curtain of hair covered her face with her head hung so low. His hand reached out to tuck half of it behind one of her ears. Her face lifted slightly, unable to meet his gaze in disbelief. He gently continued, "I remember a certain someone telling me that it's good to reach out to people. Don't go back on your words. It's...not a wrong choice. I just couldn't be that person to answer you, and that's on me."

"You don't have to be that person."

"I'm not opposed to being that person," Seto openly declared as he rose up. He stretched his arm towards her, to which she looked up to in question. He offered, "and I promise you, I'm the most fit for this position. While I was wrongfully ignoring you, I dug up old information regarding our...past, or whatever. I think it's time we have a full discussion after every distraction that's happened. I have some knowledge that no doctor has. Do you believe me?"

Kisara would have giggled at his assertiveness if she still didn't feel so down There was that air of certainty to him that suddenly arose, and it gave her an imagination of being at some business meeting. Her hand reached out to accept his, and she was assisted on her way up to stand.

"If you're going to live with Yugi, then I'm just going to have to spend more time outside my home," he willfully added, "When are you free?"

Kisara felt with Seto what she should have when Sora had asked when she was free. This was starkly different. Two men had asked her the same question, and she had two very different opinions.

"Are you only asking me out because you feel bad for ignoring me?" she playfully asked, and a wide, amused smile bloomed on her face.

Seto could only slightly smile as he saw her usual spirits raise. He nodded and sarcastically said, "I wouldn't bother in any other situation."

"Hmm…" Kisara rubbed her chin and snapped her fingers as she said, "Under one condition. I choose where we go."

"Oh, do you suddenly have a car now? Whoever drives is in charge," Seto raised, "which means me."

"Then let me drive your car!"

"I don't plan on dying soon."

"I have a real license!"

"As opposed to a forged one."

"How do you know I drive badly?" Kisara fake-whined and accused, "Are you underestimating me? If whoever drives is in charge, then you're always in charge!"

"I don't think you've driven in a while, even with a license, and yes, being in charge all the time is something I'm very fine with," Seto smugly asserted.

Kisara huffed a bit before saying, "Then we're going on two dates. One is your responsibility and the other will be mine."

"Who the hell said we were going on one date in the first place?" He argued. By asking for her free time, he didn't want to blatantly insinuate anything like a date. It would be preposterous to date.

Kisara ignored him as she said, "And after we go on these dates, we'll know who's the better boss. Sounds good?"

No. The hell, Seto thought to himself. There was something quite scary when she phrased an outing as a "date," even if deep inside, that might have been what he wanted.

"You're stupid. Deal."

They found themselves shaking on it, and the handshaking prolonged unnecessarily. Both awkwardly released, and it was during that pivotal moment that someone had slid opened the glass door again.

"Ok, break it up," Joey announced, "We want to have fun with Kisara too."

"I was just leaving," Seto smoothly said, "I'm tired after work and last-minute shopping." He reached down to grab the gift bag he had brought with him to give to Kisara, who accepted it with surprise.

"Thanks, but you really shouldn't have!"

Seto waved her off as he walked past Joey and wished him a farewell, "Have fun, dweeb."

"Oi," Joey suddenly reached up to firmly grasp Seto's shoulder. The other man paused, but surprisingly didn't hit Joey for daring to touch him. Joey said, "We gotta talk sometime. Seriously."

Seto scoffed and replies, "Why not? Everyone suddenly wants to date me."

"Huh?! Date?! If everyone means just you, sure! Bye!" Joey took his hand off of Seto's shoulders and dramatically pretended to dust off his hands.

Kisara saw Seto out the door with his gift in one hand and the roses in the other, making sure to thank him for dropping by as well. She peered down at the gift bag, curious as to what he could have possibly bought her. Before she could check, her eyes drifted up to see someone she hadn't spoken with in years.

"Oh my gosh! Téa!" Kisara yelped before set her gifts aside on a nearby end table and rushed over to hug her friend. It had been a while since she and everyone else had seen Tèa. Although she was not as close to Téa as she was to Serenity, Kisara held some affections for the high-spirited dancer.

As she held Téa in her arms, Kisara excitedly added, "You didn't tell me you were coming over!"

"Well, surprise!" Téa exclaimed as she returned the hug warmly, "I thought this was the perfect opportunity to meet up with everyone who's still in Domino!"

After the two separated, Kisara jokingly said, "Well, you just missed Mokuba and Serenity, but you didn't miss much. Those two are annoying to be around."

"Well, I make up for the two of them," Téa teased as she reached into her purse to pull out what seemed to be a small box , "because I got you a little present as well. It's just a collection of some of the best chocolates in New York!"

"Sounds absolutely delicious! Thanks so much!" Kisara gleefully accepted.

"Hey, your guests are starting to make me feel bad, Kisara," Yugi laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I didn't get you a gift."

"Yeah, me neither," Joey chimed in, "Didn't realize everyone loved you so much. Pretty weird Kaiba got you something, and you even got a whole bouquet of roses from that one guy! A whole confession!"

"Speaking of that one guy, where's Sora?" Kisara asked as she scanned Yugi's living room for him.

"He left saying that he didn't want to hear your reply tonight all red with embarrassment," Mai answered. She comfortably sat down on the couch and continued, "Although if I were you, I'd take it. He's hot."

"What's dat supposed to mean?" Joey eyed his girlfriend with crossed arms, edging close to Mai and giving her a dirty look. He squinted his eyes and moved his face closer to hers.

"Theoretically speaking," Mai assured as she shrugged and playfully smacked Joey's face away, "Besides. Wouldn't you rather be with someone as openly affectionate and ridiculously handsome as that Sora guy? Forget Kaiba."

"Hey, I never considered Sora in that way," Kisara refuted. Her voice slightly wavered as she said, "and...and the same goes for Seto."

"Seto?"

Kisara looked back at Téa, whose face looked almost dejected momentarily before thinly smiling and asking, "Are you two that close now?"

"Um...I don't know," Kisara truthfully said. Despite how impossibly close the two had gotten physically and even through their conversations, there was still that grey area that existed between her and Seto Kaiba. She didn't like how the attention had suddenly turned to her relationships, so she decided to redirect, "Enough about me, I want to see that engagement ring! Congratulations!"

Kisara sought out Téa's left hand and brought it way up in the air. There was an obvious sparkle on one finger, and it elicited several congratulations and obnoxiously loud clapping amongst the group. Kisara brought Téa's hand down to her eye-level and gasped at the beautiful square-cut diamond nestled onto a pristine, platinum band.

"Oh, Téa…" Kisara gleaned as she winked, "It's beautiful. He's rich isn't he?"

"Kisara!" Téa laughed loudly and returned her hand. She settled onto the floor near the couch, resting against it while Kisara followed suit. She said aloud, "Well, I guess I have been keeping him a secret for a while. I will say he's more than decent financially."

Mai and Kisara ushered out there "oohs" and launched a flurry of questions regarding Téa's fiancé. As Téa tried her best to answer each woman's questions, her eyes couldn't help but drift to someone that didn't appear to be as invested. While Joey eventually chimed in with the ridiculous was of Mai and Kisara pandering, Yugi didn't seem to bother with the excitement. His face was not stern in anyway, however. No, his face had that same friendliness to it as she remembered - the same, unwavering kind politeness.

Their eyes continued meeting despite Téa answering to the other three, and some part of her wanted to scream at him to be involved too. Despite the undivided attention of the other three, her chest was tinged with an irreparable emptiness.

"Is that necklace from him too?" Kisara peered at Téa's delicate neck, admiring the jewelry.

Mai too examined closer as she said, "Holy shit. This necklace looks more expensive than the ring. You really scored."

"Did I?" Téa rhetorically asked. Her gaze broke away from Yugi's as she looked down at her necklace. Her hand reached up to touch the cold metal. She had forgotten to take it off.

"What a pretty flower cut," Mai continued to admire. It certainly was a piece of artisan jewelry, and the multiple petals of the flowers shaped by sparkling diamonds defined the necklace. She asked, "What kind of flower is that? I've never seen anything like it."

Kisara's head became convoluted the more she looked at the flower. Her eyes narrowed as if to scrutinize where she had seen it before. Thoughts of fields spawned in her imagination once she recognized where she saw it before.

With a shaky voice, Kisara breathed, "It looks like…."

"Edelweiss."

Much to their respective surprise, both Téa and Kisara answered Mai simultaneously. The two women locked eyes, wondering how the other knew, or better yet, what they knew.

"Hm?" Mai peered at Kisara in wonder, "How would you know, Kisara? I've never heard of a flower like that."

Kisara wanted to smack Mai for being so curious. Despite Kisara fully facing Mai now, Téa's eyes remained fixated on her as she insisted, "I just saw some at a local flower shop. I thought they were really pretty and strange. That's why I remember them."

Mai frowned a little, although Kisara's explanation was quite plausible. She twirled a piece of her long blonde hair around her finger as she returned her attention toward Téa and further asked, "So what about you, hun? Got any cheesy stories behind that necklace?"

"Cheesy? Maybe," Téa ran her fingers against the necklace as she calculated, "He and I went on a vacation once. There was a field made up of purely edelweiss that we visited. I liked the flowers so much that he gifted me the necklace. Custom. I never bothered to learn the whole flower symbolism thing, and he definitely didn't care, but we had fun during the trip, and it was nice that he remembered."

"Are you saying that both the necklace and the ring are from your fiancée?" Kisara asked, trying her best to cast her doubts aside. Her head was starting to hurt, and not just from her all-nighter.

"Yes," Téa shortly answered.

Kisara stood up as she thoughtfully said, "The florist told me that edelweiss means "noble white" in German, and men used to climb and risk their lives to pick the flower to prove their love for their bride-to-be. I guess...that means he really loves you. I have to use the restroom."

Téa quietly watched the other woman leave the living rooming, feeling as if there was more that she knew. The necklace felt like it was choking her. She simply smiled at her remaining friends and tried to uplift herself as the usual paragon of friendship as she started inquiring about the current ongoings of their lives and ignored her personal problems of lying to their faces.

Author's Notes: Any confusion will hopefully be tied up next chapter, haha. Thanks for reading!

Review Responses

vanene10: Steamy moments will come haha ;) But I gotta make some frustration too for the suspense.

itxprincessxlala: I'm gonna miss writing out Mokuba, but he's definitely not completely gone! Thanks for taking the time to read my story!

Guest: Haha, unfortunately not right now, they aren't living together. There would be a lot of scenarios I could write out ^^ Thanks for reading!