"Sleep don't visit, so I choke on sun, and the days blur into one

And the backs of my eyes hum with things I've never done.

Sheets are swaying from an old clothesline,

Like a row of captured ghosts over dead grass

Was never much, but we've made the most.

Welcome home."

Welcome Home by Radical Face

XXXXI

It had been hours since the last box had been packed. The room behind them had been emptied of all that it contained—a song, a dance, a failed request… a talk, a break-up. It was stupid how everything was between them. Even more stupid was how he felt and how beautiful the sunrise was as the orange rays crept through the buildings and began to illuminate Domino City. Seto had previously felt an affinity for sunrises but now all he could feel was contempt.

"I should probably call for a cab. My flight's in a couple hours," Kisara said, getting up from her spot on the balcony beside Seto to walk back into the apartment. The silence between them had felt like hours, but the reality was there had been everything but silence. Seto and Kisara stayed up all night talking—she had explained that her reason for moving was because she couldn't afford to stay. The job search had been going nowhere and what jobs she could find weren't enough to financially support her. Rather than keep looking for jobs, Kisara had come to the conclusion that leaving Japan would be the best decision for her. It seemed like all she had found in Domino City were more woes than she came with.

Seto listened without providing commentary. He nodded when it was appropriate and helped her clean up the rest of her apartment without being asked. Kisara kept insisting that Seto didn't need to help but he refused her request. "I'd rather clean than be seen in the city dressed in a suit while lugging that ancient device," was Seto's response, motioning towards the stereo in the corner of the room. Kisara looked at the stereo but didn't laugh. Instead, she flashed an appreciative smile before continuing to clean. They spent the rest of the night talking to each other as they cleaned—sharing stories from times of their lives that seemed to exist eons earlier than the period they were in now. Seto told stories from his childhood, purposely leaving out parts that included Gozaburo so he could more fondly reminisce about the fun he had with Mokuba when they were children. Kisara recalled spending years of her youth growing out her hair, only to cut it all off one day for no particular reason. She liked the reactions her hair would get from people, but what she most liked was how little she cared about the length.

"The cab is going to be here in fifteen minutes. Can you help me bring down the boxes?" Kisara asked. Seto rose to his feet and came inside. One by one, the two of them gathered the luggage and transferred it to the curb in front of the apartment complex. As they rode the elevator up and down, Seto kept wondering what it would be like to go back in time and hold her hand—if only for a moment. Would it have felt the same if he knew that everything between them would eventually lead to that moment? Would it have made him think her skin was any less soft? Would it have changed the fact that he wanted to hold her hand more than he regretted not sleeping for over 24 hours?

There wasn't much time to wonder… a cab pulled up and, within moments, her suitcases and boxes were stowed away in the trunk. It was then that Kisara turned to Seto with eyes that spoke sooner than her lips as she said, "Goodbye and thank you." The distance in her voice as she spoke caused Seto to panic. He couldn't let her leave without saying what was on his mind. He moved in front of her before she could open the cab door. Kisara could feel her heart drop into her stomach, out of fear for what Seto might say.

"Before you go, I have to know one thing…" Seto paused before he continued, "Will leaving make you happy?"

"Why does it matter?" Kisara responded defensively.

"I just want to know."

"What kind of answer are you looking for?"

"The one that's either yes or no."

"I don't mean to interrupt, but are we going or not?" the cab driver snapped as he jumped out of the car and approached Seto and Kisara. "I've got other places to be if we're not going." Seto turned his attention towards the driver but didn't respond. His eyes shifted their focus back to Kisara, who seemed more annoyed than bemused by his question.

"Sure, it'll make me happy. Listen Seto, I really have to go now…" There was a change in Seto's expression before he stepped aside to let her pass. There was a shot of pain in his face, but it disappeared immediately. Or, perhaps, it just faded underneath his cool exterior… where most of his emotions lay dormant. Kisara didn't want to interpret it any further; she had done enough of that for the past two years. She didn't want to have to make sense of anything that existed in the country she was about to leave.

As Kisara stepped past Seto to get into the cab, Seto approached the cab driver and placed a wad of large bills into the driver's hands. "Take her wherever she needs to go," Seto instructed before stepping away from the driver's side door. The cab driver was stunned for a few seconds and then proceeded to sift through the cash. Seto and Kisara locked eyes while he counted the bills. Kisara felt the initial urge to refuse the offering but decided against it.

"Have a safe flight, Kisara," Seto said, patting the top of the cab before walking away. He fought the urge to look back just as he fought the urge to wonder whether she was watching him walk away. She was happy and she was leaving; there was no other action to be taken except to return home. He picked up the stereo from the side of the road and carried it with him back to the car. Upon entering his car parked on the street, he rid himself of the tie; throwing it into the backseat along with the stereo. With heavy hands, he turned the keys in the ignition and started his car. Scenes from last night began to flash in his mind as he started to drive, but he simply turned on the radio to drown out any coherent thoughts or feelings about them. He was too exhausted to analyze his feelings, anyway; all he was interested in was getting some sleep.

When he arrived home and dragged himself up the stairs to his room, he found someone was already occupying his bed. With a smile and sigh, Seto let himself fall into bed beside the boy with messy black hair that covered the pillow beneath his head. Mokuba turned over on his side and then yawned. "Nii-sama… you're back. I tried staying up until you came home but then it got really late so I fell asleep."

Seto threw his arm across Mokuba's chest and let his skull sink into the pillows. "It's okay, you can stay," Seto said; his eyes already closed and ready to slip into slumber. Mokuba, however, was awake and wanting to know more.

"What did she say?" Mokuba asked. He knew the question was referring to Kisara. Seto's eyes remained closed, and his body felt limp—ready to let exhaustion take over.

"She said she was happy… so I let her go."

Mokuba sat up, surprised to hear his brother sound so calm while saying he let Kisara leave.

"Wait, what? You let her go?"

Seto turned over onto his other side, wrapping his arms around an additional pillow that lay beside him. He then nodded and said, "I asked her if leaving would make her happy and she said yes. There's not much more to the conversation, Mokuba. Can I sleep now? I didn't sleep at all last night…"

Mokuba crawled over and peered down at Seto's half-asleep face, trying to see if Seto was delirious or not. Seto just seemed really tired but Mokuba found it hard to believe that Seto wasn't upset at all by the situation. After the way Seto had stormed out of the therapist's office the day before, Mokuba wasn't sure Seto would ever be over the break-up with Kisara and yet… there he was, attempting to sleep while seeming entirely at peace with her leaving. Although Seto didn't seem outwardly upset, Mokuba could feel his heart sink with guilt.

"I'm sorry…" Mokuba said in a hushed voice, resting his chin on Seto's shoulder.

Seto's eyes opened and peered up.

"Sorry for what?"

"If I hadn't walked to your school that day, if I hadn't convinced you to drive her back home… maybe you guys wouldn't have gotten together." Mokuba explained, feeling ashamed, "I just wanted you to be happy. I thought she was right for you." Seto stared at Mokuba, completely bewildered by what event he was referring to. Perhaps he was too distracted by the drooping of his eyes or the fact that he was developing a headache just from being awake. Seto rubbed his temples as he fumbled through his thoughts, attempting to recollect the event Mokuba seemed to think was tied to the beginning of his and Kisara's interactions.

"Oh, that's right… the car ride," Seto said. "I'm not sure that's the reason Kisara and I are in the situation we are today but it's impressive that you remember that."

"You don't remember that?" Mokuba asked with shock. Seto rolled onto his back and so did Mokuba. Both boys stared up, watching the shadows of the blinds stretch across the ceiling as the sun continued to rise outside.

"Of course I do, but if you also remember, our first real interaction was that day she walked into my office. Or I suppose it could be when she talked to me in class. Either way, there's no reason for you to blame yourself for what has happened between myself and Kisara." Mokuba folded his hands and rested them on his stomach, mimicking the way that Seto was lying down beside him. Seto appeared and sounded so composed. His inflection was no different discussing the ending of his relationship than it was discussing what he ate for lunch. It was unusual.

"I just don't get it. I mean, every time you and Kisara have had some sort of break, you've been a mess. Now she's leaving on a plane and never coming back… Aren't you upset?" Seto didn't want to continue conversing about the matter, his eyes were beginning to sting from being open and his body was already aching, but he knew Mokuba wouldn't go back to sleep until he got the real answer to the question.

"Sure, it hurts, but… it's okay. I don't know how long it'll take me to recover or if I ever will but… I'm at peace with what's happened." Seto closed his eyes to at least relieve some of the pain he was experiencing. Mokuba turned his head to stare at his brother as he spoke.

"But… why?"

"As terrible as it is that we didn't end up working out, I'm happy to have at least had the experience. I didn't think I would ever find someone that made me as happy as Kisara did and I don't feel like our time together was wasted just because we didn't work out. It turns out that loving someone means wanting them to be happy, even if it's at the expense of your own happiness," Seto stated, his voice beginning to trail off, "Or, at least, that's why I think I'm taking this so well. It could also be the sleep deprivation."

"Oh, Nii-sama… you're always sleep deprived," Mokuba said with a smile, giving his brother a hug. Seto didn't respond; he had fallen completely asleep. Mokuba didn't try to wake him this time around; instead he rested his head on Seto's chest and joined in his brother's slumber. And there the two brothers lay, asleep and in bed, as the sun continued to rise and a new day began.

Seto awoke three and a half hours later due to Mokuba's incessant poking to his side.

"What are you doing? Let me sleep…" Seto mumbled, turning away from Mokuba who was standing beside the bed.

"There's something outside that you may want to see." Seto brushed away the bangs in his face but refused to open his eyes.

"Mokuba, I can't remember the last time I slept. I'll see it later." Mokuba shook his head and continued with his poking until Seto finally sat up. "Is it important? Because if it's not, I'm locking you out of this room," Seto snapped back. Mokuba wasn't fazed by Seto's angry response. He only promised that what he wanted to show Seto was important. Seto begrudgingly got up from bed and followed Mokuba down the stairs to the foyer.

"Open the door and look outside." Seto, with what little remained of his consciousness, opened the door. What came into his vision first was a pile of suitcases and boxes on his front steps… then he noticed a person lying partially on the luggage. Seto's awareness suddenly came back to him as he stepped outside fully to take a look at the person asleep on his property. It was Kisara. Mokuba quickly and quietly walked over to Kisara, giving her a small jab in the side as he did with Seto earlier, causing her eyes to open. Seto was the first thing she saw when her vision came into focus.

"Seto… it's you."

"I would imagine so since this is my property you're sleeping on," Seto replied. Kisara sat up fully and tried combing her hair into place with her fingers. "Why are you here? I thought you left this morning." Kisara gave a small smile, standing up from her makeshift bed out of suitcases to match Seto's eye level.

"I did… and then I came back. Well, okay, that doesn't make sense, does it?" Kisara had to take a second and breathe before she continued talking. She was worried her sleep deprivation would jumble her words beyond understanding. After taking a pause to compose herself, she then continued by explaining "I made it all the way to the airport and then decided to turn around. Domino City is home to me now."

"But I thought leaving would make you happy. You said so yourself."

"I thought so too… but then I realized that I had never considered my decision in terms of my own happiness. And, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that moving to Japan was the first real decision I ever made for myself… as was being with you," Kisara nervously continued by saying, "It dawned on me that leaving would take me away from the one person that truly made me happy."

Kisara felt the last words of her sentence float away as Seto took her into his arms and lifted her in the air. Kisara wrapped her arms around his neck, almost instinctively, not knowing how she had gone so many months without Seto's embrace. She took hold of his face and kissed him on the lips, melting into his arms as she did. Neither of them felt tired anymore and neither of them could remember what they had even been doing before they found themselves enchanted by each other's affection.

"What now?" Kisara asked when she and Seto finally untangled themselves from each other. Seto looked past Kisara and saw that Mokuba had begun bringing in the luggage on the front steps in to the house. Kisara turned around and watched as Mokuba did this, too; a giant grin could be seen on his face as he moved each box into the Kaiba Mansion. Kisara turned back to Seto as he put an arm around her waist.

"How does breakfast sound to you?" Seto asked; his blue eyes softened as they met hers.

"I'd love that."

FIN

A/N: Hi everyone! I bet you all thought the day this story was completed would never come. To tell you the truth, I was beginning to worry this day would never come, too. One of my new year's resolutions was to finish this story before 2016 began and although I didn't know it would take me a literal year to finish, I'm glad I had enough insight about myself to set it as a goal. I'm not going to lie—I don't think this is the best ending I've ever written but it's the one that made sense and the one that I felt was right for a long time. I want to thank you all—readers, writers, and editors—who have provided feedback, suggestions, and encouragement for the almost five years it took to complete this story. Your support means a lot to me, and it's one I will carry with me as I move on to other creative projects. The ending of this story also marks the ending of my contributions to . If you're looking for more information on that, you can check my profile. For now, I wish you all a happy new year!