YAY! I hit twenty reviews for the last chapter. Now I grace you all with an epilogue.

Well, this is the end of the this story...after over a year, it’s done at thirty. (Sighs) Well, even though I’ll miss it, I think it’s a good idea to finally end it because it already had too much fluff as it is and it seems pointless to drag a story on when the plot is at the end.

Thanks for reading, guys. And please don’t be a stranger to my other fics. I’m currently writing two other Azureship fics so drop a review to those if you find the time. Enjoy the epilogue and thanks again for staying loyal to “Why Do You Care?” Y’ALL ROCK!

---

Epilogue

“Mr. Kaiba?” a voice said. He silently cursed at the interruption of his thoughts. Then cursed inwardly again for having spaced out during an extremely important business. This was becoming a bad habit. It’s been six years. Six god forsaken years.

And yet he still thought about her. Tea. His beautiful dancer.

For the past six years, his thoughts continued to leave Domino and went off to find her. Watch her dance, hear her voice...

“Mr. Kaiba.” He snapped back out of it. God damn it.

“I’m sorry. What were you saying?” he asked with as much dignity as humanly possible. Blue eyes clouded his thoughts and made the words of his accomplice sound jumbled and incoherent.

He banged his fist on the table and stood up.

“Gentlemen, I’m sorry. Can we reschedule this?” he asked, voice suddenly strained. The suits sitting at the table exchanged glances, shrugged, and nodded.

---

“Miss Gardener.” Tea looked away from her mirror at the woman leaning into her dressing room. “You have ten minutes before the curtains go up.”

“Thanks Theresa.” The woman nodded and left. Tea looked at her reflection and sighed. She powdered her face, applied blush, glossed her lips, curled her long lashes, and put her hair up.

Six years had changed her. The long, brunette hair now tumbled to halfway down her back. Her figure was still athletic and curvy. Maybe she was an inch taller? Or was it those evil heels she was forced to wear?

She fingered her locket with a sad sigh.

“Seto...” For a few minutes she just stood there, playing with the necklace. Then Theresa knocked again and told her it was show time.

Tea walked out of her room with uncustomary stiffness. Her costume pinched and poked her. Skin prickled and itched.

But that was show business. What could she do?

“Smile a look pretty.”

That’s all everyone said a girl like her does. The dancer, singer, actress, smiles, looks pretty, makes the fantasy real.

Make all the fantasies of men real.

Goddess of the stage.

Angel of music.

Courtesan of the Maharajah.

And so on. The praises were high. She was a coveted performer. And men would bow at her feet and give anything to have her spare them a glance. But one man had never been able to make it to her performance.

The only one that mattered.

Inwardly, she sighed. Maybe he had forgotten her after all...

---

“Hey Seto, Adelinda and I are going out tonight. Ok?”

Mokuba was now seventeen. And he had been dating this girl, Adelinda, for the past two years. Seto could not help but envy them. It was obvious they were in love.

Just like you and her.

“Alright, have a good time.” Mokuba smiled and gripped the hand of a sweet faced blonde girl and nodded.

“We will.” And they left. Seto looked back at his computer monitor.

It’s been another week. Another worthless week of his life.

What did he have to live for anymore? He had lost contact with Tea. And by the time he figured out what show she was hired to act in, that show had packed up and moved away.

Already, ten plane tickets gone down the drain. Man, this was such a damn pain.

He typed and began looking over some charts and graphs for the profits, projects, and sales of Kaiba Corp. God damn it all! Everything was going down.

Well, it was pretty much his fault for being so distracted over Tea.

Maybe...despite it all...it was time for him to move on.

No! He shook his head furiously. How dare he think anything like that. He shut down the computer and walked outside into his garden.

The scent of exotic flowers he had ordered floated around him. He breathed in, hoping to relax.

What was she doing now? Had she forgotten about him at this point? Met another, richer man? Lord knows. She was beautiful enough and she traveled all over the world, never staying with one show for long.

The diva who lights up the stage. It was near impossible to find her and get to her show in time. She normally performed for only one weekend and his idiot employees never found out until the very last second.

How frustrating...a billionaire with some of the world’s top technology in his arsenal and yet he was unable to track and get to one woman. And he’s been at this for two years since she left college.

Well, that was his assumption. Anyway of contact with her had been lost three years ago, seven weeks, four days, and he couldn’t remember how many hours ago.

Seto walked into the mansion after...he didn’t even know how long he stood there, letting the feeling of emptiness engulf him.

It was so familiar...but it never had hurt him until after he fell in love. God, love was nothing but trouble.

Stop lying to yourself.

Ridiculous. Pointless. Painful.

Beautiful, wonderful, amazing.

Stupid.

Perfect.

Insensible.

Fulfilling.

It was a mistake.

It was the greatest thing that ever happened to you.

I regret it.

You never should, never can, and never will regret loving her.

“WHAT THE HELL?” he yelled. “How in the world can MY brain be WRONG? If I say it was a mistake, it was a mistake. DO YOU HEAR ME?”

No answer. Although some of the maids in the house heard and got a bit concerned but did not dare say anything. They just continued working.

Kaiba, do you know who I am?

My conscious?

No...your heart.

Hmph.

Look, you can argue with statistics, facts, or whatever...but...your mind lacks one major aspect- what you feel. Only I know that truth.

This is ridiculous. I’ve waited six years and only proved what I believed before all this happened - romance is a waste of time. It only distracts you and brings your downfall, and everything that happened proved that.

Heh, you sound so pathetic right now.

WHAT?

You’re in complete denial. It’s so obvious that it is pitiful. You ache for her. You want her back. And no matter what you tell yourself, as long as your heart beats in your chest and you breathe, you will long for the return of her.

Shut up!

You wanted to ask her to marry you...you have the ring after six years, in the top drawer of your desk.

He froze. Seto walked into his office and opened said drawer. There it was. The small velvet box, gathering a little bit of dust from time.

There was a wrenching feeling inside. His hand reached out and touched it, to make sure it was real it seemed. It was. He opened it. The ring was there. It glittered almost cheerfully.

Why was this so maddening? Did he want to yell at he ring, ask why it was so cheerful?

Dear GOD, he had finally snapped. Seto slammed the drawer shut and went to the kitchen for some water, hoping it would help him think straight again.

He was losing it. He was losing it.

“Stupid ring...stupid ‘heart’...God, stupid LIFE.” He drained the glass and took a breath. Well, he felt a bit better. But still...

Emptiness. Pain. Sadness.

He was spiraling back in.

---

She screeched angrily and knocked over everything on her vanity table. Perfume bottles tipped over, some shattering, others spilling the sweetly scented contents everywhere. Make up littered everything. Lotions make big splotches. Hair clips piled onto the mess.

Why? WHY?

For the past two weeks she had felt like all of HELL was breaking loose!

What in all of the good lord was the matter with her?

Menstruation? No. Her period had ended a little while ago.

Illness? Nah, couldn’t be. She has no aches, coughing, sneezing, temperature, nothing like that.

Then WHAT? I mean, things were going perfect. Every week she was begged to play a new role in a new play in a new country.

It was what any other girl would want, right?

“Miss Gardener?” a voice asked. She turned to see a new talent agent who booked some of her shows, Kay Masaka, but she just went by Kay.

(A.N: I’ll bet that sounds familiar.)

“Yes, Kay?” she asked.

“...I have a question. Um, why did you trash your vanity table?” She pointed at the mess. Tea sighed and massaged her temples.

“I’m really sorry. I just-...I’m going through a...it’s...I’m just a little frustrated.”

“Over?” she asked, using that one particular tone she had accompanied with that face that said “You’d better tell me.”

“I...I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Tea.” Kay raised her eyebrow. God, why did she have to push for an answer like that?

“Ok, fine. I’ve just been wondering the same thing. I don’t know what’s wrong! This has been going on for two weeks! Ever since I-” She stopped there. Her locket. She barely touched it.

Ever since you reminded yourself of the man you’ve kept waiting for six years.

“Oh, I see.” Kay had a small grin on her face. Her green eyes said everything.

Go back to him.

Tea had mentioned Seto to Kay. And she knew about him. She was also fully aware of how much Tea loved him.

“I can’t leave.”

“Why?”

“This is what I signed up for. To perform. It’s what I’ve dreamed of, and he made it clear he wanted me to pursue my dream.” Kay rolled her eyes heavenward.

“For the love of- Tea! It’s not worth it if you’re going mad here.”

“I think I’m going mad because I’m clinging to the past.” She unsnapped her locket and stared at it in her hand and felt sick to her stomach.

It was time to let go.

“I need to...I need to let him go...he hasn’t come to see me yet. And it’s clear that I can’t go back. And what if he doesn’t even want me anymore?”

“Tea...”

“Kay, will you hold onto this?” she asked, dropping it into her hand. Kay stared at it, then at Tea who walked away.

“...there’s got to be a way to fix this.” She pursed her lips then a grin formed.

---

“Miss Gardener. Time to go on.” She nodded.

“I’m coming.”

Unreal. The play she happened to be starring in was the play that had started it all - Moulin Rouge.

She sighed and was ready to start her song Sparkling Diamonds. She stood there in her hat, glittering outfit, tresses in a curly ponytail.

The swing came down, a dust of glitter around her, the lights dim and a spotlight on her.

“The French are glad to die, for love. They delight in fighting duels. But I prefer a man who lives...and gives expensive...jewels.”

She swung around and could not believe it. She saw a face out in the audience...no, two faces that were familiar. And it made her heart skip.

Her number was soon finished. She danced with the boy playing Christian and tried to do her part while scanning back in the audience for that spot where she thought he had seen-

Back up on the swing.

“Diamonds. Square-cut or pear-shaped, these rocks won’t lost their shape. Diamonds. Are a girl’s, best...-” She took in a deep breath, pretended to look a bit dizzy. Then, she fell. The man who played Zidler yelled out and she felt herself get caught by Chocolat. And she was carried offstage.

Crap. She had not gotten a better view. Now it was the elephant scene. And this secene was too chaotic to properly look out into the audience. She had to dance with Christian, meet the Duke, introduce the concept of Spectacular Spectacular and so on.

So much for that scene.

Finally, she could look out. It was during her number Someday I’ll Fly Away. There they were. A young man with unruly black hair, sweet eyes, and a grin that was unforgettable. And next to him, a tall, blue-eyed brunette.

Seto and Mokuba Kaiba.

They were actually here! Watching her. He was here. Sitting there.

It was all she could do to keep herself singing and not jumping into his arms where she so desperately longed to be.

Finally, the ending. She sang Come What May (Reprise) and then came the tragic death scene which moved almost half of the audience to tears. Admittedly, this Christian did a little bit better crying than the one in the movie had.

And it ended with the narrative.

---

Tea walked through the party. She was told to come to this after party for a successful performance. And rumor had it that Seto was there too. But he was nowhere in sight.

She was starting to grow a little discouraged.

Had what she seen been another dream?

“Tea!” She turned to see Kay walking towards her.

“Hi Kay.”

“I think you forgot something.” She handed her to locket. Tea blinked and took it back.

“Er...thank you.”

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“He’s here.”

“What?”

“I personally saw to it that he showed up.” Kay grinned that mysterious little grin and walked away. Tea stood there, completely dumbfounded.

“Hey, what?” she cried, but Kay had already disappeared into the crowd. Tea sighed and shook her head, a little bit annoyed.

She continued to wander the party. Took a small sherry offered to her by a waiter, and sipped.

A song played.

“May I have this dance?” a voice asked. She turned to see-

“Seto?” she breathed.

(A.N: Hey! She beat me to the punch. )

He gave a small smile. She took his hand and he led her out.

“Seto...how?”

“Your agent, as it turns out, is the sister of Mokuba’s girlfriend and she was able to get a hold of me and told me where your next show was so we got here as soon as we could.” Tea laughed a bit.

“Unbelievable, what are the chances?” she asked. He shrugged.

“Truth is...I was afraid to come. I thought...maybe you had found someone better.”

“Believe me when I say that’s not possible.” She smiled up at him. “And the truth is, I was afraid to come back home because I thought that, by now, you had moved on and found someone else.”

“No. There is only one woman out there who I care about.” He took a breath. Now or never.

“Seto? Is something wrong?” They stopped dancing. Couples twirled around them. But they ignored them. It was just those two.

“This...is very hard.” He ran a hand through his hair nervously. Tea tilted her head, confused. “Tea...ever since Mokuba conducted that...survey, I’ve realized something...before, I never wanted to let anyone in. But you finally got through to me. And even though being away from you hurt me like hell, and I tried to tell myself it was a mistake...I know it wasn’t.

“I have no regrets. And...” He got on one knee. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” She caught her breath.

(A.N: WAAH! SO CORNY! I’m sad now...)

He reached into his pocket. Then he started fumbling.

“Oh do NOT tell me-” He searched in all of his pockets desperately for the ring. Somebody tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see Mokuba who was grinning.

He held out the small velvet box.

“Looking for this?” he asked, smirking. Seto twitched a bit and snatched it back.

“I will kill you for that later...”

“Well, are you proposing or what?”

At this point, Tea had started to laugh. Seto turned back to her and opened the box.

“Marry me?”

“Yes!” she answered, almost before he finished asking the question. He slid the ring on her finger and immediately felt her lips against his. Seto wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back.

Kay, Mokuba, and Adelinda cheered.

“Now...are we having a double wedding?” Kay asked Mokuba and Adelinda, who both promptly turned red.

“KAY!” Seto and Tea pulled away and he held her close. And this time, she was staying with him.

Tea could perform in Japan and they could both continue to follow their dreams. But...that would happen after the wedding...and a five week honeymoon. (Yes, some people have taken honey moons that long)

“Well...” Tea looked up at him.

“Well what?”

“Are you ready to go back home?” he asked. She smiled and nodded.

“Yes!” He lightly nuzzled her and leaned down for another kiss.

And so ends this beyond long love story.

---

...wow...i-it’s over...IT’S OVER! I’m actually DONE! This...I mean...WOW! Longest and most popular story EVER. That is just great!

Sorry for the corny epilogue. I hope you don’t mind that I used my OC and her little sister in it. I thought it’d be kinda cute and it’d fit in nicely for the epilogue.

Well, this was eleven pages so I pray it was long enough. If not...then that seriously sucks.

Now I am off to work on my other stories. Good bye everyone, I hope to see you reviewing in other fics and I’ll hopefully review you all at some point.