It's difficult to concentrate on flying back home now. I flip on the auto pilot the moment I have myself heading in the correct direction, and getting flying clearance, giving my estimated time of arrival. I push my back against the seat and lightly hit my head a few times on the head rest as I play it back in my head a few times. Everything was going well, despite the minor annoyances of dealing with Pegasus. But let's be honest, that was always to be expected of him. But I just had to lose my cool and blab my business in an area that was very clearly not the time or place to be talking.

"Did you really say the health of your child?!" I recall the whole conversation:

"My word, Kaiba. You really aren't a boy anymore are you?" Pegasus taunted me. "I never knew you had it in you! A girl friend is one thing, but to be expecting! Tell me, do you know if you will be having a boy or a girl yet? I simply cannot wait!"

"Shut it!" I held my hands in fists at my sides. "My personal life is of no concern of yours. And so help me, if so much as a word of this gets out, I will not hesitate to end everything you hold dear!"

"Oh Kaiba, you really think that terribly of me?" He clapped his hands together as a devilish smile crept up his cheeks. "You have my word, this stays within this hall. I wouldn't dare get on your bad side Kaiba. In fact, this situation you're in is just all the more reason for me to help you out." He snapped his fingers, and a butler from the conference room runs out with a portable hard drive. "Take it. It's everything I have compiled having anything to do with the Blue Eyes White Dragons, the Variants, their origins, and any lore that they carry within the game. All the notes from my research pertaining to the White Dragons is all there for you. It may be a little more than you asked for, but it sounds to me that you're in a hurry to head back."

I stared him down, knowing this must come at a cost. "What's your price?"

The man sighed, grabbing the portable hard drive and held it forward to me. "Just some day, I'd like to take some time to meet your expanding family. A dinner if you would. We work in the same industry after all, and keeping in the know of my business partners is high on my list of priorities."

"I don't know why you would need to know them, but fine. As long as it doesn't go further than that." I scowl, reluctant to agree as I took the hard drive and stuffed it within the pocket inside my jacket. "We're still in the early phase of this. We don't even know if the pregnancy will make it. But if all goes well, when that time comes, it will be on my call. Understood?"

"Of course!" I couldn't understand as he became sincere, "Kaiba, you've really grown up over these past few years. Congratulations on your family."

I rolled my eyes with a dreaded sigh as I was escorted out after that. Now, I'm heading home, Kisara waiting eagerly for my arrival. I would have been a bit upset with her, having told Mokuba about her pregnancy without me, but now I have no room to complain. At least her telling him was intentional, and not a slip up like my end of things.

"Ugh. I'm beat." I talk to myself aloud. "I can't wait to just get home and let today be over."

A few hours pass. My driver picks me up from Kaiba Corp, where I leave my jet with a trusted pilot. They'll get it put in the hanger for me, since I'm too drained. I have no desire to make conversation with anyone, so I just climb into the limo with Hyosuke shutting the door behind me. I can ignore anyone who tries to grab my attention. He does page in after starting the car to see if there's anywhere I need him to stop before going straight to the mansion. I tell him that even if there was anything, it can all wait. I just wanted to get home.

The sun was already starting to set by the time the car pulled up our long driveway. When the limo comes to a halt, I don't wait for Hyosuke to get the door for me. He does still bow to me as I shut the door and wave him off for the evening. I trudge up the steps to the front doors that just feel overbearing today. I stare up at them, tracing the etchings of the white dragons with my eyes. I take a deep breath, and force myself through the doorway.

"Welcome home, Mr. Kaiba!" Akkiko greeted me, though her hands were full of folded towels and table covers as she was just passing through.

"Thank you. It's been a while." I make small talk. "You're not usually working this time of day."

She giggles. "It has been a while. But I am covering for Mizuki. She wasn't feeling very well, and asked if I could come in to cover the last few hours of her shift."

"Is that so?" I take a mental note. "I'll have to reach out and make sure she's doing okay later on. I don't want any of you over working yourselves."

"You're too kind, sir!" Akkiko nods, and continues her way to the laundry facilities. "Let me know if you need anything!"

"Of course." I continue past her, making my way up the stairs and heading towards Kisara's room, where I assume she would be.

As I walk the halls, I pull my phone out of my pocket, as well as the hard drive that Pegasus had gifted me. I'll be sure to put that in my study once I've checked in on Kisara. I tap my phone screen to see if I've missed anything in my disassociation during the ride home. To my surprise, I only have one text message. What surprised me wasn't about having a message, but more rather about it was who sent it. What could he possibly want?

I shake my head, deciding to read it and text him back later. I have more important things to tend to than what ever Yugi may need to say.

A few turns down different hallways and I make my way to Kisara's room. Surprisingly, her door is opened up. This made it easier to know that she was in there at least, instead of tracking down someone to ask where she is. I poke my head around the door frame and see her lying on the floor, like she had just been making snow angels in the carpet. She stared up at the ceiling in a daze. I imagine she's got a million different things on her mind. Though confused why she chose the floor to lie on, I smile. Every little quark she has is something I just can't help but cherish.

"I'm home." I take a step into the room.

I can see her body jump, startled by my sudden voice. She takes her time to sit up and stares at me with her cheeks lightly flushed. "Welcome home, Seto."

I walk to her, leaning down next to her in a squat. "Would you like help up, or shall I join you down here?"

She takes a small moment to think it over. "I don't want your back to hurt from lying on the floor."

I smile at her soft expression. "What about your back though?" I slide my phone back into my pocket so that I can extend my arm to her, offering to assist her up.

She gently takes my hand, as I pull her to a stand. "I was just stretching. You know, trying to… Keep myself limber. Heh…"

I can't even imagine the toll her body must be taking with everything that's going on. "Not the worst idea. I should probably get back into working out as well."

"Oh?" She chuckled to herself, for whatever thought popped into her head. "I figured you somehow always found a way to get in a work out. Considering…" She bites her lips for a moment. "You're just. Ya' know, physically in shape."

She blushes brightly. I can't help but smirk and lean in to give her a kiss. She closes her eyes, leaning in to me as she kisses back. As much as I'd like to continue, I pull away knowing we have other things we need to do. "Walk with me to my office?"

She inhales, nodding as she opens her eyes. "Sure. Uhm, how was your business trip?"

"Well, thanks to my brother," I hold up the portable hard drive to show her my plunder, "I had to cut things short. So I will be doing a bit more research on my own once things get a bit more normal around here."

"How did Mokuba cut your trip short?" I was surprised that she hadn't known.

I use my free hand to take hold of hers, guiding her to the hall as we walk to my office. She shuts her door behind the two of us before we continue.

"You didn't hear him give me an earful?" I laugh quietly. "Mokuba told me off. Put me in my place if we're honest."

We walk in silence for a minute, as she realizes what I meant. "I'm sorry that I told him without you… I just… had a moment of weakness and needed to talk to someone."

"Well, better him than someone who we couldn't trust with this, right?" I reassure her. "I'm only upset that I didn't get to see his face when he found out."

"He was pretty dumbfounded. Took him a minute to put it together." She chuckled to herself. "But after we talked and he gave me some advice, I did hear him calling himself 'Uncle Mokey' and saying it has a nice ring to it."

"It sounds like he's excited…" I feel the air shift, knowing we were getting to the difficult part of this discussion. I wait until we reach my private study, unlocking the door and the two of us stepping inside before I continue. "So that begs the question… How do we feel about this?"

Kisara takes a seat at the extra chair in front of my desk, looking like she's about to be interviewed. "You mean… How do I feel about all of this?"

I try to keep a calm demeanor, but know that being vulnerable with her right now might be better for the two of us. I shut the door, set the hard drive next to my laptop, and crouch down in front of her instead of taking my desk chair.

"Kisara… I don't want you to feel like you're carrying the full burden of this choice… If you want my honest opinion about all this, than I will do my best to find the words to explain." Despite being able to converse with the biggest tycoons in recent times and keep my composure in any situation, this felt like the most difficult time I've ever had trying to speak. "I don't want you to feel alone in this."

Her shoulders relax as I place my hand on her knee, and do my best to make eye contact. She looks down to the floor though, which I understand. This is difficult, and it requires patience and trust.

"Could you… tell me what's going through your head? About us? About... this?" She managed to ask, her eyes reaching mine finally.

I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "I'm scared. I'm terrified of becoming a father. At least… I have been up until today." Mokuba's words from our talk earlier play back in my head. "I was made aware that I already portrayed a father figure to Mokuba. The age gap between us wouldn't quite leave me to feel that way, but… It was encouraging that Mokuba said that to me. I had never… wanted to become a father, considering the life Gozubora put us through…"

Kisara places her hand over mine. I look away for a moment, trying again to gather my thoughts and keep on track. "I hadn't wanted children. I had buried the thought of that every becoming a possibility, for fear that I would somehow be like that man… I'll be honest, the fear is still there. But Kisara, I've been thinking about it."

Kisara nods, acknowledging me. "And…?"

I fix my posture, putting myself on my knees so that I can be level to her while she sat in the chair. I cup my hand behind her head and gently pull her towards me. I place my forehead against hers, and close my eyes. I feel her breath against my face, warm and smells of cinnamon for some reason. I gently rub my head back and forth against her forehead and move both of my hands now to her cheeks. She places her right hand over mine, and I wonder if she too closed her eyes.

"I want the whole thing with you," I find my courage. "I want the family life. I want to someday have the bravery to ask you to be my wife, and continue to grow our family. I want to be the father of your children, no matter how terrified I am." I lower my hand to her stomach, feeling it rise and fall as she breathes slowly. "I want this child, if we are able to have them. I want them, if you also want them. And if not now… someday, I hope you'll allow me to ask you for a family when you're ready."

I open my eyes, in time to see her burst. She tightly shuts her eyes, trying to hold back the overwhelming feelings that are just escaping. She tries to say something, but the words just melt into gibberish. I put my hand back on her cheek and kiss her forehead. I try to hold her still, but she collapses forward into my chest. I wrap my arms around her, a much needed embrace as she loses herself in the moment.

Every time she reaches a point where I think she's calmed down, she starts crying more, like she has so much to say but the words refuse to come out. But she finally is able to pull herself back. "I'm so scared, Seto. I don't know how to be a mom. I don't know if I'm ready to take this step."

"We still have time to make this decision. Together." I reassure her, rubbing her back as she presses into me more. "Not much, but enough time to decide if we need to terminate and do this when we're ready."

"What if I'm never ready though?" Kisara pulls herself back and starts to raise her voice. "What if I'm never ready and I lose the only opportunity we had to have a family together?"

"We have all the time in the world to try again Kis—"

"What if I don't? What if I only have a limited amount of time to be with you in this life too?" Her anxiety is getting to be too much.

"Kisara, calm down—"

"What if having this kid kills me and I don't get to be by your side again? What if I can't be there for them? For you? What if they're sick and I can't help them? What if I fuck it all up?"

"KISARA!" I shout at her, not knowing how else to snap her out of this. "Your fears are valid, but do you hear yourself? You're asking about all the things that could go wrong, but what if for the first time in our lives things go right for us?" She tries to catch her breath as she wipes away the waterworks. "If it came to a point where the pregnancy could kill you, we'd terminate. If giving birth is too difficult, we can do what should have been for you and adopt. If they're sick, I'll spend every penny I have to fund whatever medicine and treatments are needed to cure them. And there's no chance you could fuck it up Kisara. We'd be doing this together. If this kid is going to be just as messed up as us, than it's something we both did to screw it up."

She pushes her palms into her eyes and starts to steady her breathing. She opens her mouth to say something, but instead holds her tongue. I know she's got so many more concerns, but one step at a time.

"If we're not ready for this, than we don't have to do this, Kisara." I want to reach forward, but can sense that's not what she wants right now. "If we don't move forward with the pregnancy, I won't think any less of you. I will still be right here beside you, every step of the way. As long as you want me, I will be yours."

"I hate this…" Kisara admits, now putting her hands to her stomach as she stares into nothingness, though her eyes look in my direction. "I hate how I feel about this… I don't want to regret keeping them. But even worse, I don't want to regret getting rid of them."

I take another deep breath and fix how I've sat once more. I roll my shoulders and crack my knuckles before fully sitting on the floor, one knee pulled forward while the other leg lie flat to the floor. For a while, I leave things go unsaid. I don't know what to say at this moment. All I know is that I could never regret which ever choice we make.

"Just… tell me what to choose." She won't look me in the eye, but she does reach forward for my hand once more.

"I can't. I can't make you do anything you don't want to do." I reach forward, gently pulling her chin to make her look at me, "But I also can't stop you from doing something that you want to do. I want you to live with me here in the mansion, though I know you would rather live in a cozy ranch with your own personal touches. I want you to stay home and rest, though I know you would be bored and much rather work a job or help tend to the chores. I would love to hear you sing, play the piano, or take back up the violin, but I also know there are times when you would prefer the silence to read a good book. I want you to be happy… Even though I know being by my side may lead to a more unease and disappointment than anticipated." I press my thumb across her cheek, wiping away a straggler tear. "I want to give you the world Kisara."

She sniffles. "I love you, Seto."

"I love you, Kisara."

"I can't choose right now."

"That's okay. We don't have to right this second." Again, Kisara throws herself into my arms. I smile, knowing this was difficult, but very much needed. "How about I run you a relaxing bath. With some lavender and mint Epsom salts."

She reluctantly chuckles. "I'd like that."

For the first time today, I finally feel myself relaxed as I slide a little further into the bathtub. The water now covers my chin, and I close my eyes as I soak in the heat. I know it won't be much longer when I can't enjoy the scolding hot water if I keep the pregnancy, so I toned down how hot I usually have my baths.

But the thought ruins my relaxation, and I reopen my eyes slowly. The point of this was to clear my head, even if it's just for a little while. I dip my mouth and nose down below the water, exhaling to blow some bubbles. I lift my head back out afterwards and sigh. Seto sits behind me, sleeves rolled up as he presses his hands into the water, finding and rubbing my shoulders for me. I know I'm tense and my stiff shoulders really show it. As he massages me, I pull my hair off to the side and hold on to it. I fidget with the strands as I had earlier, when I was pacing the halls during my uncontrollable anxiety.

I'm sure I would have been more embarrassed at this moment, having Seto in here with me while I'm stark naked in the tub, but my head is in such a whirl from the stress that I feel better with him being here. Though, I do blush at the thought, "Would you… want to join me?"

He smiles gently with a light chuckle, "I would love to, but I might take up too much room. I'm a lot bigger than you after all."

His thumbs run in circles just below my shoulder blades, loosening up some knots I wasn't even aware that I had. I grunt from the release of the short lived pains. The way he is able to keep so calm right now, despite everything both irritates me, and really gets the butterflies coming back to life within me. I lean my head back, rolling my eyes to where I can see him, looking down over top of me. His hair has gotten longer, with his bangs able to hang too his cheeks with the angle that he's leaning down.

"How do you do it?" I reach up, placing my hand on his cheek, awkwardly since he's behind me.

"Do what?" He kisses my forehead.

"Keep so calm all the time." I want to learn his techniques for myself. "How are you not going insane over all of this?"

"I don't always keep calm," he shakes his head, "I have been drinking too much to dull it all, remember?"

"But you've managed to slow it down in no time."

"I just…" he thinks for a moment. "I guess I grew up realizing that it was better to hide anything on the exterior to make it easier when trying to present myself. If I showed pain or fear around Gozubora, it would be worse. If I showed that I was intimidated around a client, they would take advantage of me. If I showed happiness, it would be exploited or taken away. It was a reflex to force myself not to feel. And when you are able to hide it so well on the outside... then you start to go numb on the inside."

"So… it's easier just to disassociate?"

"It's difficult for me to be expressive." He stops massaging me and leans further into the water to wrap his arms around me. His sleeves soak in some of the water. "I find it easier to lower my guard around you though. And… it's still hard to be vulnerable, though I'm working on that. I have to throw out the logic part of my thoughts so I can be honest with how I'm feeling."

He's very conscious of that part of himself. He has so much self control, unlike me. I lack that capability. Do I envy his self control? Or do I empathize with his lack of being able to show emotion?

"Your sleeves are getting wet." I hold onto his arms though, enjoying the embrace.

"That's fine. I can always change."

I say nothing, but pull away for a moment to turn around and face him. He sits up straight as I pull myself to a stand. I reach forward, grabbing the ends of of his shirt, slowly pulling it upward. Seto closes his eyes, reaching back and grabbing the collar of his shirt before pulling the whole thing over his head. He slides it gracefully off his arms and drops it to the floor. I place my hand over his chest, feeling the heart beating within him. His skin feels cool, compared to my body heat having risen from the bath. I know he'd feel warm if it weren't for my soaking though.

Seto also reaches forward, but instead of my chest he runs his fingers from the top of my birthmark to the bottom of it. My scar of the past, forced upon my body as a reminder of the sacrifice that I made for him. He reaches his other hand forward as well, both of his hands now gently pressed to my stomach. He pushes himself forward, stepping into the bath with me, despite still clothed from the waste down. He drops himself down to his knees, causing some of the water to spill out the tub to the floor. He wraps his arms around my waist, and in turn I run my fingers through his hair. He touches his forehead to my belly before kissing me from my navel, upward to my scar.

I never felt so safe before. "Seto…"

"I don't care how you were able to come back…" He admits to me. "I'm just happy to finally have you."

As if a hunger begins to build within me, I pull his face too look at me, and quickly go down for a deep kiss. Despite the fear, the anxiety, the stress of everything—I push it away. I let the heat take over us, biting his lip as I push myself over top of him. He maneuvers his hands to hold me up by my butt. Though difficult from the bath water, I manage to get his pants undone, pulling them down just enough for us to start things. I find us incredibly lucky that his bath is much larger than those ones at the Fujiyama mansion, otherwise I imagine this would be much more uncomfortable for him.

His wet jeans weigh him down, making his entrance slow, yet all the more pleasurable. I still remain hushed as my mouth opens to slip my small cry as he fills my insides. I grab the back of his head with one hand, the other one holding tightly to his shoulder. He is slower than the other times we've been intimate, savoring the sensation of us sharing one another. His grunts as he breathes feeds the hunger within me. He kisses my neck, lightly nibbling the skin. I wrap my legs around his waist, as he brings himself to a stand, still holding me. One hand cradles my back as the other one still holds me firmly. His motion picks up, having an easier time pressing into me in this position.

We move back to towards the wall, as he sits me on the edge of the tub. His hands switch to holding my hip with one, and gripping tightly my thigh with the other. He kisses me hard as I try to keep my legs latched around him, but they begin to fall with his heavy pants. I feel my breasts bouncing with every thrust and my stomach stirring from the depths he reaches within me.

He slows for a moment, pulling from our kiss to whisper in my ear. "Can I fill you up?"

My head is too distracted to deny it. It wouldn't matter at this point anyway. We've already created an accident, and we don't have to worry about another right now. I do manage to speak through my rapid breaths, "Don't stop!"

He smirks with a light laugh in my ear, "Trust me, I'm not done yet—"