"I know you broke up with him,

And your heart's still on the shelf.

It's been over two years for me,

And I'm still not quite myself.

You can't be with someone new,

And you can't go back to him.

You're beginning to realize

That it's sink or swim."

The Last Worthless Evening by Don Henley

XXXX

"…That was the last time I saw her, which was six months ago. I haven't heard from her since that day in the hospital." Seto leaned back in his chair, finally allowing his body to relax. He didn't know how long he had been talking but the emotions surrounding the subject had caused his body to tense up. Seto felt sore just from speaking and hunching over the whole time.

When Seto looked up from the floor, he was surprised that the therapist was staring back at him. He had nearly forgotten what the therapist looked like, having fixated his eyes on the floor for so long. When his eyes met the therapist's, Seto realized that he couldn't even remember the man's name. The therapist quickly looked down at the floor, searching for the right words to say, though he mostly looked overwhelmed by the long story that was told. There was a pile of paper sitting by his feet with words scribbled all over.

"Well, that's… a lot. We've probably gone over quite a bit…" The therapist lifted his wrist to check his watch with such exhaustion that Seto thought his hand might fall off entirely. It was in that moment that he remembered the man's name: Mr. Tetsuya. Seto nodded with relief after this moment of clarity. "Our session was only supposed to be an hour and a half long, but it appears we've been here for three and a half hours. Nevertheless, this sometimes happens with the first session and I certainly didn't want to stop you from talking. There was a lot to be told."

"But now that you know everything, you have to tell me… what should I do?" Seto asked.

Mr. Tetsuya took a long, drawn out breath before picking up the papers by his feet and organizing them on his clipboard. Seto waited patiently for the response, while Mr. Tetsuya himself appeared to be looking through his papers for answers. He slowly flipped through each page, as if savoring each second of silence.

"Well, I certainly have a lot to work with. We should probably discuss what goals you want to set for therapy and go from there."

Seto leaned forward in his seat, feeling the aches and pains return, primarily in his back. He ignored them as he tried to make sense of what the therapist meant by setting goals… the only reason he had come to therapy was to get an answer.

"What are you talking about? I thought you were going to tell me what I should do. I only came here to figure out what to do next." Seto's response caused Mr. Tetsuya to raise his eyes from the papers in his lap.

"Unfortunately, that's a common misconception with therapy. I'm not here to tell you what to do, but rather to discuss the things that are on your mind and help you work through them." Seto couldn't identify the feeling that was beginning to rise in the pit of his stomach. The way his hands began to shake and his heart started to pound… was this fear? Was it anger? Was it both? He started wringing his hands to stop the shaking and felt his face turn red. Seto didn't care about the ethics of psychology. He needed Mr. Tetsuya to be honest.

"I don't need to work through anything. I need to take action!" Seto snapped. "I want to get her back, and you have to tell me how to do that."

"Seto, I don't think you understand. I can't tell you what to do. Therapy is entirely about you; it's about how you feel." Seto rose from his seat, determined to assert some sense of dominance over Mr. Tetsuya in hopes that he could bully the therapist into giving answers. The moment his body lifted from the chair, however, his vision blurred for a moment as the blood rushed to his head. Seto felt a wave of dizziness. Did talking about Kisara really create such an adverse effect on him? He did his best to cover up his discomfort by scowling.

"I know how I feel and now I want to change things. You have to help me!" Seto pleaded.

Mr. Tetsuya sighed and placed his clipboard on the armrest. Seto watched Mr. Tetsuya's every movement, not sure what to expect. Seto had always been weary of therapists and even in this moment, he was cautious of what Mr. Tetsuya would do next. Either way, he wasn't walking out of that office after three and a half hours without an answer.

"As a licensed therapist, I can't tell you what to do. However, as a man who has several degrees in psychology and forty years of experience being a human being, I will tell you this: let her go."

Seto's face went blank.

"What?"

"I'm sure you've heard the saying, haven't you? The original quote goes along the lines of, 'If you love someone, set them free. If they—'"

"You're telling me to let her leave? To get over it? To move on?"

"I wouldn't go as far as to say those exact words but in a sense, yes." Mr. Tetsuya leaned forward, making full eye contact with Seto and commanding the utmost attention. "You're a logical man, Mr. Kaiba. You must know that you can't make anyone fall in love with you or change anything that's occurred between you and her in the last two years. What's done is done. If she hasn't made the decision to reach out to you after all this time, I can't say that she ever will. I can only say that it will be okay if she doesn't and that I'm here to help you through the healing process."

"No." Seto rose from his chair and turned towards the door. "I didn't come here to heal. I came here for answers."

"Mr. Kaiba, I gave you an answer."

"Yes, and it was wrong. I know what I have to do; I just wanted a second opinion. Now that I know yours is wrong, I'll be on my way."

Mr. Tetsuya's mouth hung open as Seto walked out of the room with confidence. He thought about calling Seto back, but part of him knew better. In those three and a half hours, Mr. Tetsuya had learned more about Seto Kaiba than anyone else in the world—aside from Mokuba, of course, and perhaps even Kisara. He hadn't learned everything, but he had learned enough to know Seto wouldn't return.

The stomping of Seto's steps echoed through-out the hallway, causing Mokuba to look up from his phone as he saw his older brother approach and walk right passed the front desk. Seto and Mokuba made eye contact for a brief moment before Mokuba jumped to his feet. By the way Seto had looked at him, Mokuba could tell it hadn't gone well. Or rather, it hadn't gone the way Mokuba had hoped it would.

"Mr. Kaiba, wait! Don't you want to set your next appointment?" the woman at the front desk called as Seto walked by, Mokuba shuffling behind him.

"I'm not coming back," Seto replied, his voice disappearing as he exited the office and entered the hallway. It wasn't until he was waiting in front of the elevator that Mokuba was finally able to catch up with him. Seto didn't avert his attention away from the elevator as the younger Kaiba approached.

"What happened? You were in there a long time; I thought it was going well."

"He didn't give me the answer I was looking for. Nevertheless, it didn't matter because I already knew it. I've known for some time now what I have to do; I just wasn't sure about it. Now I am." Seto's expression was solemn, and his eyes stared only at the elevator in front of him. Mokuba knew this was how his brother was when he had a plan, but Mokuba could only guess what it was.

"And what answer is that? What are you sure of?" The elevator doors opened and Seto stepped forward. Mokuba followed him and took a moment to observe Seto while waiting for an answer. Seto's stomping had led Mokuba to believe Seto was angry but looking at him now, it was clear he wasn't. If anything, he seemed confident—perhaps more confident than Mokuba had ever seen. Seto stood upright with his shoulders back, his eyes growing bigger as the elevator numbers illuminated with each floor they passed.

When they reached the lobby, Mokuba spoke again, "Nii-sama… what are you planning?" But Seto didn't answer and Mokuba didn't ask any more questions. Mokuba had a feeling he knew what Seto was going to do. His hope had been that therapy would change his mind.

It was clear that wasn't the case.

Exhaustion was the only word that came to mind when Kisara took a short break from cleaning her apartment to check her phone and found that someone had texted her, asking how she was. Kisara placed the phone back down on the table before wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead. In the past couple months, her once short hair grew down to her shoulders. Some of the locks were put in a ponytail, while the rest always seemed to be in her face. Medium-length hair proved to be a pain, especially when she was trying to get things done.

Kisara eyed the phone one more time, wondering whether to answer the text or not. There were still so many things to do but taking a break didn't seem so farfetched. However, she wasn't sure she wanted to waste her break trying to come up with a more interesting way of saying that she was exhausted in every capacity within her. It wasn't until then that she realized she wasn't just exhausted from cleaning for the past three hours, but that she had been exhausted from her life for the past six months.

Just as she had thought of a response both funny and true to describe her state of existence, Kisara heard a knock on the door. While curiosity was the first reaction she had to the knocking, she had a feeling it was the landlord coming a day earlier than expected to check out the apartment. Kisara thought nothing of the potential visitor as she walked towards the door and opened it. Her mind flashbacked to one too many memories of finding the man that stood on the other side of the door, but unlike previous times, she felt completely bewildered.

"Seto, what are you—" Seto held up his hand, stopping her from saying anything more. He motioned for her to let him in and she did. Kisara didn't know why but perhaps it was the way Seto was dressed that encouraged her to grant him passage. There were only one or two occasions Kisara had seen Seto dressed like this; a suit, a tie, and the shiniest black shoes she had ever seen. Seto appeared as though he were ready to attend the opera and yet, there he was, standing in the middle of her apartment, beckoning her to come over. As she approached him, she also noticed a boom box in his hand—an archaic relic she had not seen in many years.

"What's going on?" Kisara finally asked when she was done staring him up and down. It wasn't just the clothes that threw her off about Seto, but his expression too. He seemed incredibly embarrassed despite how great he was dressed, but perhaps it was the boom box in his hand that caused such shame. Again, Kisara was faced with silence instead of answers. Seto placed the boom box onto the floor and pressed play. What came out was a familiar tune from one of Kisara's favorite Billy Joel albums. She gasped upon hearing the slow beat of drums and guitar originate from the device on the floor, only that when it was time for singing, nothing came out of the boom box.

"She said she'd meet me in the bar at the Plaza Hotel, 'Wear a jacket and a tie.' 'What's the occasion?' She just smiled and she wouldn't say why," Seto sang—although it wasn't much like singing. Instead of singing the lyrics with the intended melody, Seto merely said them with the appropriate timing. Kisara's mouth dropped with both amusement and amazement as Seto continued, "So here I am standing, waiting in the lobby, sweating bullets in this stupid old suit. And when she sees me, she busts out laughing, 'You're a sad sight honey, but you so cute,' and…" Seto bounced in the air before he began to swing with the beat as it picked up.

Kisara was flabbergasted to see Seto's arms and legs alternate movement as the chorus began. She couldn't believe her eyes; was Seto… dancing? "I don't want to be alone anymore. I was checking you out, I was just making sure. No, I don't want to be alone anymore and I want you tonight, although you hurt me before," Seto seemed to be more disgruntled by his movements than anything, staring intently at the floor as he grooved, and yet he continued to move and speak the lyrics at the same time, "It didn't matter that I felt like a fool 'cause I forgot when she walked through the door. I said I'm sorry, but she said it was cool and I don't want to be alone anymore."

Kisara tried covering her mouth but she burst out laughing before she could stop herself. Between Seto's monotone voice and the most awkward dancing she had ever seen, she couldn't help but laugh. Seto's eyes looked up upon hearing the laughter and much to Kisara's relief, he didn't appear to be mad about it. In fact, her laughter seemed to lighten the embarrassment Seto was experiencing and even inspired him to dance with a little bit more rhythm and a smile on his face.

"It's so confusing choosing sides in the heat of the moment, just to see if it's real. It's so erotic having you tell me how it should feel," Seto said, beginning to circle Kisara instead of dancing, snapping his fingers along with the beat of the drums. He looked ridiculous and he knew it, but Seto liked that it made her laugh. Kisara could feel tears roll down the side of her face while her insides burst from laughter. "But I'm avoiding all the hard, cold facts that I've got to face. So ask me just one question when they magic night is through: could it have been just anyone or did it have to be you?"

Seto took hold of Kisara's hand and pulled her into his arms before busting into the chorus, his voice sounding less sheepish than it was before. Kisara gladly twisted herself into his arms, though the laughter didn't subside as Seto continued to sing. "I don't want to be alone anymore. I was checking you out, I was just making sure. No, I don't want to be alone anymore and I want you tonight, although you hurt me before." Kisara covered her mouth so she could hear the lyrics, lacing her fingers in Seto's and feeling the laughter begin to die down. Her tears, however, remained ever flowing as Seto belted out, "It didn't matter that I felt like a fool, 'cause I forgot when she walked through the door. I said 'I'm sorry,' but she said it was cool and I don't want to be alone anymore."

The song became instrumental for a moment as a soft saxophone played in the background. Seto wrapped his arms around Kisara's waist as the two of them broke into a slow dance. Kisara pressed her head against Seto's chest—a place that seemed so familiar to her that she practically forgot that the last time she had been held this way was months ago. She wanted to ask him, in this short period without vocals, what was going on, but she didn't want to ruin the moment either. She let her tears soak into Seto's suit and closed her eyes, wondering how she could ever leave this place in his arms.

"But don't you know that it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong… but like the song, being caught by the wink of an eye. I can't be sure we'll get along but I'm willing to try." Kisara pulled back her head and looked up, catching Seto smiling at her with such warmth, she thought she might melt in his arms. She smiled back him, her heart racing as the music began to pick up. "As long as you can tell me…"

"I don't want to be alone anymore. I was checking you out, I was just making sure," Kisara sang, swaying her hips to the beat.

"No, no, no, I don't want to be alone anymore. And I want you tonight, although you hurt me before," Seto sang in return, feeling the vocals just fly out of him. Singing was certainly not his calling in life but the way she smiled distracted him from how silly he felt before.

"It didn't matter that I felt like a fool, I forgot when she walked through the door," Kisara sang back, corresponding her dance moves with his. Their movements synced with one another and for a brief moment, it felt completely natural.

"Said I'm sorry, but she said it was cool and I don't want to be alone anymore." Seto twirled Kisara back into his arms like a yo-yo and pressed her against his chest. It felt good to be like this again: to be near her. The past six months had been hell for Seto and the whole time he wondered if he would ever get to experience a moment like this again. Holding her in his arms made him think it was possible… until he realized she was still crying.

"Kisara, are you okay?" Seto asked, stepping away from Kisara so he could get a better look. She was smiling, which was a good sign, but the tears were throwing him off since she was no longer laughing. Seto feared he might've accidentally upset her without his knowledge and wished to remedy it immediately. She immediately picked up on his confusion and wiped away her tears. Before long, she spoke.

"That was wonderful, Seto, but… I don't understand. Where did this all come from?" Seto took hold of her hands in his.

"I know I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but not dancing with you at graduation was the third biggest one. The second biggest one was breaking up with you. My biggest mistake, though, was taking two years to tell you how much I want to be with you."

Kisara's eyes grew wide from shock.

"Seto, I…"

"I know you're with Mahad but I don't care. Being with you is all I want to be."

"I'm not with Mahad… I'm moving."

"What?" It wasn't until Seto looked around that he discovered that everything in the room was packed away in boxes. He could feel his heart drop into his stomach—a feeling he had experienced once before but now seemed so much heavier. He had never pictured himself standing in another empty room with Kisara and yet, there he was and there she was, surrounded by boxes containing all of her belongings.

"Why do I keep finding you like this?"

"I don't know."

They both stood in silence, full of emotion but lacking words.

A/N: Let me start this by saying "YAY!" because I can't believe this chapter is finally done. It took two months but I'm proud of the finished product. The completion of this chapter means there is only one more chapter to go until this story is finished. That's right everybody—chapter 41 will be the last chapter of "For Love's Sake." Can you believe it? Six days ago marked the four year anniversary of this story being posted online and in two days, I turn twenty-four years old. Even though this story has only existed online for four years, it has existed in my head for about six years and it's been quite a journey writing it. In fact, everything that happened in this chapter came to me in December of 2011. A lot of this story has been a long time coming and I'm so excited I finally get to share it with you. I won't get too sentimental just yet, though, since there's still one more chapter to go. My hope is that I will actually have the last chapter up by next month, as planned! Until then, as always, I am eternally grateful for those of you who have read and reviewed this story for all these years. I hope you will find the ending satisfying! Hope you all have a wonderful day/weekend!