A/N: Ah, no the last chapter! Having done this before with "Perfect" I'd like to say I'm better at saying goodbye to a long lasting, much loved story, but...I'm not. I actually cry a little bit when I finish writing/posting a story, because it's something I've been working on, improving, receiving feedback for and sharing with my beloved readers for so long. I don't want to say goodbye to this one, especially because I once again do not know if/when I will be returning to this fandom...but if I do it will probably be to write the flip side of this story, focusing on Bakura's journey! So don't lose hope yet! Like Bakura, I cannot promise to return, but if you'd just wait then...MAYBE...I shall ;)

Disclaimer: Yugioh is not mine.

I remember when he returned.

And of course, he did return. It might have taken him two months (long enough for me to begin doubting) but he made a promise, and he made good on it.

I should have known if he could follow a list of rules his mother made years ago, he wouldn't break a promise he made to me.

But it was hard, harder than anything I'd ever done before. It was hard to keep faith.

I had to, though. I couldn't go back to that dark place, the place where I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't function, couldn't do anything but think about how much it hurt where I was.

I put my focus on school and on friends.

Maybe going drinking with Ryuji wasn't the most constructive thing I could have done to pass the time, but I was rebuilding bridges and making myself feel better at the same time.

And I managed to reclaim some of what had been mine.

In some ways, I was returning to a kingdom or, in the words of Akefia, the life I had left behind to rot and grow dusty.

It took some cleaning up, but it was still there, right where I'd left it (and so was all my schoolwork of course).

To say that that kept me busy would not be an overstatement.

Strangely, the more I cleaned up and reclaimed, the more I began to understand the cryptic things I had once heard Akefia say.

What once sound like raving and heartlessness was beginning to make sense (though I'm not sure what that says about my own sanity).

"Just remember, this life isn't a permanent one. Just the first of many."

It wasn't permanent. I had proved that when I stepped away from pretty much everything except my own misery and loneliness.

The life I had built with friends and school and everything else had been forgotten. I'd entered a different 'life'.

One of suffering.

But that wasn't permanent either.

That didn't mean I couldn't return to it if I ever chose to, though.

I also didn't have to if I didn't want to.

"Don't get too used to it. That's just as dangerous as letting it become permanent."

I shuddered to imagine what it would have been like to get used to a life of loneliness. At least at this point the damage was not irreparable.

If it had become that way…I wonder if I would have just wasted away in my misery.

"You'll understand."

Did I understand? I thought so.

But like Bakura said in response, he was always a couple steps behind Akefia.

What sounded like madness at one time could become logic at another. It all depended on where you were in your life.

For now, I thought it made sense.

It was hard to say how I'd feel when I was face to face with Bakura again. If I got that chance.

I did, of course.

Like a wraith in the night, he showed up one evening.

Despite her disapproval, when I gave Ishizu the look that told her exactly who was on the other side of the door, she vacated the place, sure to give Bakura her best big-sister glare on the way out.

He entered, still not saying anything. He just stared, expression somewhat haunted as he looked into my eyes, searching for something, I wasn't sure what.

Maybe the depression that had been weighing down my every movement the last time he'd seen me.

The depression that I'd been battling tooth and nail since he'd left again, trying to convince myself that he'd return.

Trying to convince myself that this moment would come.

"Nice place."

"I thought you might like it."

I tried to say it with a straight face, I really did, but I couldn't help the little grin that found my face.

He didn't miss it. He tried to glare but it was more a rueful smirk than anything else.

Ishizu and Seto had been married since the last time I saw him. That meant that we were now living in Seto's mansion.

He was away on business right now, but that didn't make it any less his house.

At first, I'd been concerned that Bakura wouldn't know where to find me.

That was silly, of course. He always knew how to find me.

This was the guy who'd promised to literally follow me to hell if he had to.

Though this, to him, was probably as close to hell on earth as he could think of.

"I hope you don't expect me to stay here with you."

"I don't expect you to stay at all."

Bitterness laced my words. The laughter was gone from our conversation.

He shot me a sharp look before crossing the room, grabbing me by my shoulders tightly.

I felt my whole body tense. My back tingled a little.

"It's fine. You came back like you promised. And I've been doing…better. Just don't ask me to be excited about it."

"I do expect you to be excited."

This time it was my turn to glare at him. Had he not heard what I just said?

"Seriously, Bakura" –

"Shut up. I'm trying to tell you something. Would you just listen?"

Blunt as ever, at least.

I decided to shut up. The last time he'd given me something to be excited about, it was the motorcycle that was still sitting in my driveway at this very moment.

I supposed it wouldn't hurt to let him talk. Just in case he had a gas card on him or something.

I gave him a nod as the go ahead, trying not to get my hopes up.

"I've found a…more stable occupation. In Domino. And an apartment. It's a one bedroom, but I didn't think that would bother you."

His smirk covered up any nerves he might be feeling. And if he wasn't feeling any nerves, I was making up for it with my recklessly beating heart.

Was he…asking me to move in with him? Here? Right now?

"You expect me to just drop everything and move in with you just because you say your back in town for good?"

"Yes."

"You're a cocky bastard."

"You're stubborn and melodramatic and impossible and I've given up more than you can imagine for this. You told me you'd wait for me. Now what's your answer?"

He was glaring, grip tight around me, looking like he'd rip me in half if I dared to say no.

Behind that though, I sensed true intent. At least in saying that he had given up something in order to have this opportunity with me.

And if he was willing to do that, just for me…that meant he was willing to do quite a bit to be with me.

I gave him an ultimatum and he chose me.

Essentially, he was telling me, demanding that I know, that he needed me. More than anything else in his life.

It was me that he needed and wanted the most.

And knowing that, it really only left me with one option.

"Well, if you insist…"

"I do."

"Then I guess my answer will just have to be yes."

…

"And so you see, Ishizu, that's how I know. It wasn't when I first met him, or when we started dating. It wasn't when he stayed the night, and it definitely wasn't when he took me out to dinner and stuck me with the cheque. Words don't mean much to Bakura. You can say anything and say nothing at the same time. Promises are what matter in his world. Promises, and actions. He promised he'd come back, and I promised that I'd wait. And he did come back. He gave up on an entirely different life, a life that he couldn't have if he also wanted to have me and he chose me. He could have been a thief for the rest of his life, and a damn good one at that. He could have been rich and had all the treasures in the world. But the prize that he wanted wasn't one that he could steal. At the end of the day, I was the thing that he couldn't just take. I was the treasure that he couldn't be without. And that's how I know…that he loves me."

A/N: So, how was that? An adequate ending? Did you like what I did with the theme of this story in the "That's how I know" and the chapter titles? I personally enjoyed finding ways to work that in...especially because I got to start Marik and Bakura's relationship at lust and end it at love ;) *Sigh* I almost don't want to post this because that will mean that it is over...however, I love you all very much and you've been just the most fabulous and interactive of readers I could possibly ask for so I may just have to return to this someday when I have time! I hope you've enjoyed the journey, and thank you so very much for taking it with me :) *heart* ~Elle