Chapter Text

Epilogue

The bliss of their engagement lasted exactly one week before a fierce debate sparked concerning who would host the affair. Seto proposed Wyvern Manor as the obvious choice, since it was far larger than the Mutou estate. Atem argued more of his friends and neighbors would attend a wedding in Gameton, and since fewer people would make the trip to Domino, the size of the manor hardly mattered.

The discovery of Seto's true aim, that hosting at Wyvern would naturally prune the guest list, started a whole new argument. Seto was about to recommend they settle the matter with a game of chess when Atem finally agreed that the people who mattered would make the journey. He suggested a compromise; they would marry at Wyvern if every available room could be used to host his friends. Seto capitulated, with the understanding that all invitations would expire after a week's time.

With his house now being invaded by the masses, Seto steeled himself for a miserable bombardment of awkward small talk and vapid conversation in the week leading up to the ceremony. He figured he would be counting the hours until he got his new husband–and his home–to himself. 

He had not anticipated the sheer amount of gameplay that would take place during those seven days. What started as a couple hands of cards, a few matches of chess, a smattering of billiards, turned into an all out, multi-event tournament with formal brackets and a complicated tally system. After days of fiercer competition than Seto ever dreamed of, the event culminated in his fiancé being crowned the arbitrary title of King of Games. Though he was reluctant to own to it, Seto found he was not sorry for having housed the company.

When the big day finally arrived, the wedding took place on a gorgeous June morning, in the sprawling Wyvern gardens. A sweet breeze swept through the assembly, fragranced with the bloom of budding roses, bluebells, and forget-me-nots. Seto dressed in a stunning white while Atem stood beside him in black. They each had a pawn nestled deep in their left hand pocket, matching the color of their partner's coat–for luck. Seto hardly believed in such things, but when Atem proposed the idea on the eve of the wedding, he would do nothing to dampen his love's enthusiasm. It did seem fitting to somehow honor the game that brought them together.

When the white pawn went missing over the course of the day, they had their first argument as a married couple–resulting in Atem removing one of his ivory cufflinks to use in its place. The cufflink would stand in for the missing pawn for many months, until Isono discovered the lost piece down a secluded path along the back of the gardens. How it got there no one could say–but the pink faces of Seto and Atem were more than telling. 

Over the course of her stay at Wyvern Manor, Anzu had been determined to confess her feelings to Yugi, but between all the excitement of the tournament, she struggled to find a quiet moment. Mr. and Mrs. Masaki guessed the direction of their daughter's affections many months prior, long before she herself did, and threatened to deny her a dowry if she were to marry a man with no prospects or inheritance. When she realized the truth of her heart, Anzu, not to be deterred, decided to run away and start a new life across the sea, with Yugi, if he would have her. She first hoped to express her love the night Mr. Otogi revealed his new game. Yugi, being a devoted brother, was too preoccupied trying to help Atem to notice–a point Anzu never let him live down.

All the drama would amount to nothing when arrangements changed following Atem's nuptials. Their grandfather named Yugi the inheritor of Turtle Grove, who proposed to Anzu that very hour.

One would think no one's smile would match that of the grooms on the day of their wedding, but Yugi's face splitting grin nearly outshined everyone. Atem was more than pleased to share one of the happiest days of his life with his brother.

After the departure of their guests, the newlyweds easily settled into their life together at Wyvern. Atem immediately fell in love with the grounds. He went about exploring every acre with Seto by his side, who rediscovered its beauty through new eyes. After long days spent surveying the land or traversing the city, they spent their evenings relaxing in the library with a couple good books by a roaring fire.

Though they both loved Wyvern, they were never strangers at Lightstone Hall. Before the end of her lease Kisara made an offer to purchase the estate that had long captured her heart. Every subsequent year they all summered in Gameton together, to Mokuba's absolute delight.

After a rather fiery courtship, spanning several consecutive summers, Mokuba and the youngest Miss White would eventually fall in love and marry. Azura never lost her exacting demeanor, but she would lose her love for gossip, when a couple vicious rumors found their way back to her. Fortunately for Azura, a prickly personality and a cutting wit never had a good track record of dampening Mokuba's affections. Though they had always been family in their hearts, after the union of their siblings, Seto and Kisara would forever be brother and sister in the eyes of the law. 

For her part, Kisara never married. Despite many persistent and lovestruck suitors that chased her well into her golden years, she was content to be her own woman, in control of her own assets. 

Seto and Kisara managed to defy their fathers to the very end, never joining their estates, for when Mokuba and Azura had children, their first born daughter inherited Wyvern Manor, and Lightstone Hall would go to their second born son. Though the idea of offspring had never appealed to Seto, he turned out to be as devoted an uncle as he was a brother and loved Mokuba's children as his own.

The defiance of his father would be thorough when Seto made good on his ambition to establish the world's first public library, where anyone could read and learn. The library stood as a beacon of progress and hope for the future. To Seto's satisfaction, it would become synonymous with the Kaiba name, eclipsing Gozaburo's military legacy.

Even though he had been a determined bachelor for many years, Seto was satisfied with the unexpected benefits of married life–particularly, no longer being expected to dance at balls. As a married man, all the apprehension dropped away, and he could enjoy the games–and, yes, even the company–without the barrage of scheming mothers and their eager expectations.

Some poor, ignorant fool would occasionally say something derogatory about his marriage, but his feisty, little husband would always demand satisfaction in the form of a lofty wager at the game of their choosing–the proceeds of which went directly to the Kaiba Library fund. Seto delighted in seeing Atem wipe an arrogant smirk off the faces of Domino's aristocracy, one challenge at a time. It did not take long before Atem established a reputation and won society's respect in his own right. 

Every year in the days leading up to the anniversary of their marriage, Atem and Seto would host a week of games. With each passing year the competition grew more and more exceptional, until people began traveling from all over the country to participate. 

Despite securing the inheritance of Turtle Grove, Yugi and Anzu spent many years exploring the world abroad, but they were sure to always make their way back to Domino in time for the Kaiba annual tournament. Yugi even emerged the winner on several notable occasions–but no one was ever more competitive than the two hosts with each other.

Though Seto and Atem bickered regularly, they both rejoiced in the knowledge that they would always have someone to challenge them to be a better man, and knock some sense into them–occasionally with a fencing blade–when their pride shifted from virtue to vice.

As Seto Kaiba once pondered, great rivals did, in fact, make great partners, and they, indeed, shared a long and lasting bond.