Having A Heart
Summary: Kaiba believes that the heart is just a big muscle that pumps blood around the body. Serenity tries to convince him that the heart is a place where you keep the ones you love. Will she succeed? And will he place her in his heart? Silentshipping.
Disclaimer: YuGiOh! still doesn't belong to yours truly.
Author's note: OMG it's the final chapter! Somehow, I feel a bit sad that my first multi-chapter story has come to an end... But hey, everything has an end, right? Besides, I'm going to write a sequel to this, and it's NOT going to be one-shot^^ For the last time, I want to thank the reviewers of the previous chapter! So, a big thanks to Mirokusonlybabe, Catalyna Cullen, Kie Shan, Larka the WhiteShe-Wolf, honeylove90 and P.O.J.A for your reviews on chapter ten^^
Chapter 11: Having A Heart
Mokuba stared at his brother in amazement. Seto had just told him what had happened, even though he hadn't told his feelings with the events. Mokuba had been prepared for a lot: Crazy fan girls, kidnapping, maybe even murder… but a kiss? No, that wasn't something he'd thought of.
"So… You kissed Serenity?," he asked carefully, trying to understand the situation.
"No. She kissed me," Seto pointed out. He wanted that to be very clear; he wasn't the one who had started this whole mess.
"But… you kissed back, right?"
Reluctantly, Seto gave a short nod. Those darn hormones…
"And then you walked out on her?"
Again, a short nod was Seto's answer. The more questions Mokuba asked, the more he wished he hadn't told his little brother what had happened.
"Wow…," Mokuba said softly, letting everything that was just told sink in for a moment. Seto kissing someone was one hell of a deal, seeing he never wanted any human contact, but that the person he kissed was Serenity Wheeler, was even more confusing.
Seto hated Joey Wheeler, and therefore anything and anyone that was even the slightest bit related to him. Except for his sister, it seemed. He knew his brother didn't really hate Serenity; otherwise he would've never let her help out when he was sick or taken her out to dinner. Yet, he never thought Seto would not hate her so much that he would kiss her.
"What are you going to do now?," Mokuba asked with a small voice. Seto couldn't possibly think it was alright to just walk out on someone after sharing a kiss… Or would he? Mokuba wouldn't be surprised if his brother actually thought that. Social stuff wasn't Seto's expertise.
"Nothing," was Seto's short and simple answer. He wasn't planning on seeing the female Wheeler anytime soon… And 'anytime soon' was equal to 'never' in Seto Kaiba's dictionary. It had just been a hormone rush. He was fine; he had found a completely logical explanation. She was fairly smart, she would figure out it had just been hormones. Or maybe not… Maybe she would be stuck to her 'heart' philosophy. Maybe he had wounded her forever…
At the point, Mokuba decided to go and give his brother a lecture right there and then. He found this whole situation completely unacceptable, and he was the one who had the play Seto's conscience if he wanted something to change here. And man, did he want to change something!
"You just walked out on her? You're not going to apologize? I mean, I know you're not someone who apologizes easily, but even you should see that this is serious! For all you know, she's still in your office, crying her eyes out! You can't seriously think that you can just walk away from this! She might even love you, even though I can't see why the hell she would!"
With that, the younger Kaiba left the room, leaving his brother to think about his words.
Seto simply sat there; staring at the point Mokuba's head had been before he had stormed out the room. Mokuba hadn't said a word to much or a word too little. Everything he had said had been dead on.
'You just walked out on her? You're not going to apologize?' Mokuba's words repeated themselves in Seto's head, causing his once gone headache to return rapidly fast.
Apologize… When was the last time he had apologized? He couldn't remember. He was powerful and wealthy, he never had to apologize. Even Mokuba had barely ever heard an apology coming from him. Yet, he knew this was something he needed to do, because he was wrong here.
He had turned down many girls, fan girls mostly, but this was a different story. Serenity wasn't a fan girl; she was just a nice girl who had wanted him to like her. As a friend as first, but as something more later on. And he hadn't even considered that. He hadn't paid the slightest bit of attention to her words and actions; he had only wanted her to leave him alone. And now, he wanted nothing more than to make sure she was alright. She was a nice girl, and she hadn't deserved the treatment he'd given her. Anyone else would've turned their back on him long ago. But not her. She'd stuck around, trying to befriend him, trying to make him see that wasn't alone in this world. And he repaid her with walking out on her after they'd kissed.
It wasn't his intention to start a relationship with her. Oh no, that was way too complicated. This feeling was just a hormone rush; it would wear off soon enough. Besides, if he were to date her, he would have to learn to deal with that mutt of a brother of hers, which wasn't something he planned to do anytime soon. But relationship or not, he needed to apologize to her for his behavior, even though he hated to do so. She had the right.
'For all you know, she's still in your office crying her eyes out!' His office... Hopefully she was still there. He owed her an apology, and as everyone knew, he hated owing people, so hopefully, she would still be in his office and he could get this over with. If she wasn't in his office… He shivered at the thought. If she wasn't in his office, he needed to stop by her apartment… And it was going to be darn hard to get a descent apology out with the mutt around.
He quickly got the thought out of his head. He just had to assume that she was still in his office.
With that, he got up and left the room, grabbing his coat in the hallway, eventually leaving the Kaiba mansion with Mokuba's final words going through his mind.
'She might even love you…'
Kaiba hadn't bothered to call his chauffeur. He had just walked to Kaiba Corp. headquarters as fast as he could. If he'd been thinking clearly, he would've taken a car, called a cab, or even taken a bike. Anything that would make him go faster, since the chance Serenity was still in his office grew smaller by the minute.
After about a twenty-minute walk, he finally reached the Kaiba Corporation's main building. He stepped inside, quickly crossing the hall, not paying attention to his employees who muttered a soft 'Good evening' when he walked by.
Stepping inside the elevator, he rubbed his temples, trying to chase away the headache that had returned in full strength after Mokuba's lecture. Other people's consciences worked in the form of a little nagging voice in the back of their heads; his worked in the form of physical pain.
He pressed the button that said 'ninety-five' with more force then necessary. The elevator responded by rising slower than normally, causing Kaiba's frustration and headache to grow.
He rested his head against the cool metal doors of the elevator, relieving his headache slightly. When he closed his eyes to shield them from the bright light, and image of Serenity's face appeared in his mind.
His eyes shot open and he stood up straight immediately. Damn his barely existing conscience… Serenity's face, normally happy and full of joy, was now sad and lonely in his mind. That was the way she had looked at him just before he had stormed out on her after their kiss… And now, it was hunting him. It made him realize more then anything that he needed to find her and apologize to her.
The familiar ringing sound, indicating that the elevator had reached the desired destination, released Kaiba of his thoughts. He stepped out the elevator, quickly making his way through the maze of corridors that led the way to his office.
Seeing the sparkle of gold that spelled his name on the office door made him go even faster. He was nearly running as he crossed the final hallway, opening the door with the same force he had closed it the last time he'd exited.
His eyes quickly flew through the room. Nothing. Nobody. Not even a cockroach. He sighed in disappointment. He had expected this, since it had been almost two hours since he had left, but still… It kinda felt like an anticlimax.
Feeling slightly disappointed, he was ready to turn around and leave the office, when a shiny object caught his eye. The source of the shining surprised him. It was the Blue Eyes Serenity had given him, standing in all her glory on his desk. How did it get on his desk?
Almost instantly, he knew the answer to the question he had mentally asked himself. He remembered putting the Blue Eyes on the shelve, on the edge. When he slammed the door, the force must've caused the Blue Eyes to fall, and afterwards, someone must've picked it up and put it on his desk. And that someone, he realized, must have been Serenity. She was the only one left on the floor after he had fired his secretary.
Carefully, he picked it up and examined it closely. Surprisingly, the thing was still completely intact, looking as magnificent and powerful as ever, just like a real Blue Eyes, which was remarkable, since the shelve was about two meters high.
He clutched his hand into a fist, hiding the tiny Blue Eyes from his sight. Again, this was a sign of Serenity's incredibly kind personality. If he had been her, if she had walked out on him, he would've let that tiny thing see every corner of the room. But Serenity had simply picked it up and replaced it. If she had been tall enough to reach the shelve, she probably would've put it back up there, as if nothing had ever happened.
He opened his hand, staring at the Blue Eyes again. Somehow, the sight of it made him feel even worse about himself. He had to apologize to Serenity, or the feeling of guilt was going to kill him.
Even more determent then he had been before, he put the tiny Blue Eyes in the pocket of his long black coat, turned around and left the office.
Serenity sighed as she looked at a tree branch that was swaying along with the rhythm of the wind. Her sigh was quickly followed by a shiver. She was in the park, alone, coatless, on an autumn evening. She was cold, but refused to do something about it.
She'd been sitting on the park bench for about two hours now, just staring off into space and thinking things over. Well, mostly staring off into space, since thinking about what happened only made her feel sad and lonely.
At least she wasn't at home, where Joey and Mai were probably fooling around, maybe looking each tenderly other, like any other happy and satisfied couple. She was happy for her brother and her best friend, but she wasn't in the mood for a happy couple when she herself had failed so miserably in love. Ironically enough, she had just wanted to be left alone for a while.
A quick look on her watch told her it was about nine thirty p.m., give or take a few minutes. She hoped Joey and Mai hadn't noticed that she had left the house, because she knew Joey would be worried out of his mind if he found out that she wasn't in her room.
Another sigh left her lips as she looked up at the beautiful lights that enlightened the park at this time of evening. The lights reminded her of her dinner with Seto, when they could see the enlightened park through the window from their seats.
She shook her head, trying to eliminate the thought. It didn't matter where she was, or what she was thinking about; somehow, her thoughts always drifted away to the man that had refused her.
Maybe it was time to go home. She wouldn't want Joey to go crazy and put up missing posters of her everywhere. Besides, she was pretty tired. Sleep… She was almost scared to go to sleep. She knew for sure that she was going to dream about him. Well, there was not much she could do about it. She couldn't stay awake forever.
And so, she got up from the park bench and started her walk home.
Kaiba walked down the streets in a quick pace. He hid his hands in his pockets and kept his head down, not wanting to be recognized. The last thing he needed right now was a bunch of idiots who had nothing better to do than to stare at him.
He was on his way to Serenity's apartment. Yes, he was aware that it was already nine thirty in the evening. He was also aware of the fact that he wouldn't be very welcome, but he didn't care. He was planning to go in, apologize, and get out. Nothing more, nothing less.
Suddenly, he stopped. He could proceed in two ways; through the mall and through the park. The mall was warm and shielded from the wind, but it was also full of people, whereas the park was cold and windy, but probably deserted. Kaiba hated people more then cold, so he turned to his left and continued his way through the park.
The lights that illuminated the place where quite annoying, but at least it was peaceful and quiet here. He came here fairly often at night, just to think things over. Even in his own home, it could be quite loud with his little brother and his staff running around like idiots. In the park, there was usually not a soul to be found after six in the evening, especially not in the autumn and winter.
Of course, as he was thinking that, he bumped into someone. So far for his peace and quiet. What idiot dared to be here at this time of evening?
"Can't you watch where you're going?," he sneered, not even bothering to see who it was he had bumped in to.
"I'm sorry," came almost at the same time from the person he had bumped in to.
Then, both of them realized who they had bumped into, even though they both had very different feelings about it. Kaiba was glad, since he didn't have to go to Serenity's apartment now, while she wished for him to leave before she would burst into tears. Again.
She stared at her shoes, hoping he would just shrug it off and walk past her, just as he had done after their kiss. She didn't want to cry in front of him; she knew he would see it as a sign of weakness, and she didn't want to be seen as weak in his eyes. Unfortunately for her, Kaiba wasn't planning on leaving immediately.
Kaiba was looking at her, trying to find the right words. He was glad she wasn't looking at him; that would only make him feel guiltier. He took a deep breath. Well, there goes nothing…
"Serenity," he spoke in a soft voice, causing her head to shoot up.
She stared at him with a confused look on her face. Did he just… call her by her first name? No 'Wheeler,' no 'The mutt's sister,' no 'Puppy.' Just Serenity. Hearing him say her name made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.
"What is it, Seto?," she asked carefully, trying to sound as polite as possible.
"I'm sorry." It was a short and quick statement, but it hit her like a bomb. Did he just… apologize to her? What was going on here?
"For… for what?"
Kaiba cursed under his breath. Damn, he was hoping she would just accept it and move on. Of course, she deserved an explanation, but that didn't make it any easier for him.
"For my rudeness," he answered, still not giving a proper explanation.
Fortunately for him, she understood what he meant, and she smiled at him. She knew it must be hard for him to admit that he had been wrong, and she found it cute that he did have the courage to do so.
"It's okay," she said, giving him a sad smile. "I'm sorry too."
Now it was Kaiba's turn to be surprised, even though he didn't show that on the outside.
"For what?," he asked in a demanding voice.
"For… Well, for… doing what I did," she said softly, again looking at her shoes. "It was rude and I shouldn't have done it."
"Don't worry about it," was his reply. He had kissed her back in a hormone rush; surely, she had the same hormones, causing her to kiss him. It wasn't something to be fed up about.
"Thank you," she said softly, daring to look up again, meeting those azure blue eyes that she had been thinking about all day, causing a shiver to run up her spine.
They stood there like that for a minute or so. They had ran out of things to say, and Serenity was getting a little uncomfortable standing so close to him. The last time she had been standing this close to him, she had made a big mistake, and she wasn't planning on doing it again.
"It's getting late; I should head…"
Her words were cut off by a strange, zooming sound. When the sound stopped, the lights that illuminated the park suddenly went out.
Serenity whimpered in panic. In the middle of the park, the trees were so close together that not a single spark of light could get through, covering the place in complete darkness. And she wasn't happy about it.
As she always did when she was stuck in a dark place, she reached for something stable, something she could hold onto until the light returned. Soon, she found something long, soft and warm. She clutched onto it as if her life depended on it, hoping some light would return soon.
Little did she know that the thing she was clutching onto was Seto Kaiba's arm, who, unlike her, was perfectly calm under the situation. He remembered her acting like this when she had been in his bedroom when he was sick, when he had unintentionally darkened the room. She was afraid in the dark. Normally, he would have seen that as an incredible sign of weakness, but with her, he could understand, seeing how she used to have bad eyesight.
Not really knowing what to do at that moment, he raised his free arm and carefully patted her on the back. It was a somewhat clumsy and insensitive move, seeing the fact that she jumped at the sudden feeling, but hey, he was still Kaiba, so it was pretty thoughtful for him.
He kept his free hand on her back, trying to comfort her bit. He was hoping that the lights would go back on soon, or she was going to cut off the blood circulation in his arm. Of course, he also hoped the lights would go back on soon because he didn't have a clue about dealing with a scared young woman, who seemed to have herself permanently attached to his arm. Yet, he somehow liked the fact that she was so close to him that he could smell the jasmine shampoo she used to wash her auburn hair.
Serenity was also hoping that the lights would go back on soon, for obvious reasons. When Kaiba had patted her on the back, she had first been scared to death, then angry at herself for choosing Kaiba's arm to cling onto. But she was too scared to let it go. Besides, the warm hand Kaiba had placed on her back was somewhat comforting.
Luckily, the lights went back on a short moment after. They were both glad, yet both slightly disappointed when Serenity could let go of Kaiba's arm. She gave him a slight, shaky smile.
"I'm sorry," she said once again. 'I'm just…"
"Scared in the dark? I had noticed that," Kaiba stated, making her feel like a complete idiot. As soon as he had said it, he felt like kicking himself for his stupid remark.
She stared at her feet once again. Of course he had noticed that she was scared in the dark. It was quite obvious, and he was a genius after all. She really was an idiot sometimes.
"I'll head home now. Good evening, mister Kaiba."
She turned around, leaving a slightly hurt Kaiba. Since when had she stopped calling him by his first name? Not that he could blame her; he had been nothing then a jerk to her, even when he was apologizing.
He just stood there, staring at her back as she walked away from him. He felt… abandoned, somehow. He had only felt like that once before in his life, and that was when his mother had died.
Realization hit him right there and then. He loved her, he honestly, truly loved her, and if he wasn't going to do something right now, she would leave. She would be gone, just like the only other woman he had ever loved.
He started walking after her, quickly catching up with her due to the fact that he had longer legs and could therefore make bigger steps. When he was close enough, he grabbed her wrist. Not paying attention to her shocked whimper, he whirled her around, making her face him. One look at her hazel eyes was enough for him.
He pulled her close as he bowed down a bit, locking his lips with hers.
This kiss was just as intoxicating as the first one had been. Soon enough, she wrapped her arms around his neck, as she deepened the kiss, loving the warm and fuzzy feeling she was experiencing on the inside.
He now wrapped his arms around her waist, as he pulled her closer and closer. He only wanted her closer. If it had been possible, they would have melted into one being. However, as wonderful as it was, this kiss didn't last long either. This time, it was Serenity who pulled back.
Both of them gasped for breath, as they stared into each other's eyes, trying to find out what the other was thinking at that moment.
"Why?"
Kaiba blinked, a bit startled by her sudden question. It seemed that she could read his mind, knowing that she had surprised him and that he didn't completely understood.
"Why now? Why not back then, in your office? What has changed in those few hours?"
He was silent. There weren't many occasions when Seto Kaiba didn't know what to say, but this was one of the few exceptions. What was he going to say? That he had been in denial, that he hadn't been able to get her out of his mind, that he loved her? Those things were all true, but how was he going to express that? He wasn't a people person; he had trouble with simple thing as apologizing to people and thanking people. How was he going to say that he loved her?
"Why?," she whispered again, as tears began to fill her eyes. Damn, she had been telling herself so hard not to cry in front of him…
"Serenity…," he started, not really knowing how to continue from that point.
"Why?," she repeated, harder this time. She usually wasn't a pushy person, but at that moment, she just wanted an answer. She had been crying, she had been thinking, she had been lying, all because of that one kiss. And just when she was starting to except that he didn't want anything to do with her, he just came up and kissed her. It was a little too much for her to handle.
She could hear him sigh, and she immediately felt sorry for pushing him so hard. She knew he wasn't a people person, and that it had taken him a lot to apologize to her, let along to kiss her. She didn't have the right to push him into answering something he obviously didn't want to or know how to answer. Maybe he just needed something coming from her.
"I love you," she said softly, staring at her shoes once again. She had been wanting to say those words for some time now, and she knew that now was the right time to do so, to express the feelings she possessed for him.
Because she was staring at her shoes, she didn't see the smile that had crept up Kaiba's face as he looked at her. As a response, he pulled her into a hug. He had been very unlike himself that night when it came to her, but he wasn't ready to say those words. Not yet.
Serenity knew this. She knew Kaiba had been extremely nice that evening, and she understood that his ego didn't allow him to say those three words back yet. She simply hugged him back, her head resting against his chest, happy that she was close to him, happy that he wanted her close.
"Serenity?," he asked after a few moments.
"Hmmm?," she replied, not bothering to lift her head to look at him.
"I think I know how it feels now."
Now, she was curious enough to lift her head from his chest and look him in the eyes.
"How what feels?"
"Having a heart."
And that concludes "Having A Heart." I know, I know, the last line should be 'to have a heart,' but I just thought it would be nice if I ended the story with it's title. The sequel to this should be up soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this story and that you will enjoy the sequel to it as well^^ As always, if you have the time, please review. And, since I won't be adding more chapters, a pre-thanks to all reviewers of this chapter!^^