Chapter 1: First Love
August 2019
"Dad?" an adolescent voice asked, not quite deep enough to be considered adult, but high enough to be childlike. "Can I talk to you?"
"Sure son, what's the problem?" Atem chuckled patting a space on the couch.
Ryan sat down, as tall and lanky as his father, his brown hair a mess as usual. He was wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. "You said you wouldn't laugh at me if I came to you about anything, right?" he asked him anxiously.
"Of course not, I always keep my word. It's just us man to man. What's on your mind?" Atem asked raising an eyebrow.
"You promise you won't even tease?" Ryan asked, even more anxiously, his eyes serious.
" No son, no teasing I swear." Atem said, putting his hand on his heart.
"Okay, well..." Ryan shifted, his tan cheeks turning pink.
"I'm all ears, Ryan."
"There's this girl..."
"Oh? And I suppose you really like her." Atem asked folding his arms and raising the other eyebrow.
Ryan didn't answer, the color in his cheeks deepening and his ears turning red.
"Well come on, finish your sentence son." Atem said tilting his head.
"Ryan, look at me." Atem gently ordered.
Ryan met his father's gaze finally. "It's just so embarrassing talking to you about it." he blurted. "I mean you're my dad and you probably liked a girl a million years ago."
Clearing his throat and ignoring his son's comment, Atem continued, "It's ok Ryan, you can tell me anything. I know how you feel, I was just as embarrassed as you are the first time I admitted my feelings to your Mother." Atem smiled.
Ryan's eyes went wide. "You were? You're always so confident."
"I may appear that way, but if you were to talk to your Auntie Loretta, even she would tell you that there was a time in my life that I wasn't so confident."
"What should I do about liking this girl?" Ryan asked, eager for the usual advice his dad gave.
"Hmm, I haven't been in this situation for a long time. But from what I remember, I just talked to your Mother and once I knew she liked me I asked her out on our first date." Atem chuckled.
"I don't know if she knows I exist." Ryan replied miserably.
"Are you talking about Anna?" his younger sister, Taylor, asked, coming into the room. Her red hair was shoulder length now and pulled back with a clip. "I heard her talking in the girls' bathroom about how she thinks you're cute. Dunno why she would think that." She wrinkled her nose.
"Excuse me young Lady, I'm trying to have a serious talk with Ryan. Now if you don't mind could you please stop taunting him and find something else to do." Atem interrupted the two teens as he noticed how much more embarrassed his son looked.
"I just trying to help. If you want it, she gave me her number to pass on to you." Taylor handed a piece of paper to Ryan.
"Is this really her phone number or is it a chat line like you did to Luke last week?" Ryan narrowed his eyes at his sister.
Watching the interacting between his son and daughter, Atem smiled. "Taylor, you're not doing this just to tease your brother, are you?" Atem asked narrowing his eyes at her.
"It better not be. I will be very disappointed if you have tricked him Taylor." Atem said sternly. Looking at Ryan with a more softened expression. "would you like to go and call this girl?" Atem asked.
"You wouldn't mind?" Ryan asked his dad anxiously.
"Of course not, go, you can do it."
As Ryan ran upstairs with the cordless phone, Taylor folded her arms over her chest. "Why would you think I would tease my brother with a fake number?"
"Because apparently you have been known to do it before." Atem scowled.
Taylor shrugged. "Honest mistake."
Ryan came downstairs finally, a huge grin on his face. "Dad, she said she would go out with me! Where should I take her? What should we do?" he started panicking again at the idea of entertaining a girl.
"Slow down, son, and take a deep breath. Just relax. I can see you are nervous but that's normal especially for your first date. Well what about the nice little Ice cream parlor down the road?" Atem suggested.
Hali heard the last part of the sentence as she came into the room. "Who's going to the ice cream parlor? I could go for some ice cream."
"Nothing, Mom." Ryan mumbled, turning red again.
"Our son is going on his first date and wanted to know where he should take his new Girlfriend." Atem said filling his wife in on the details.
"Dad!" Ryan groaned, fearing the worst.
"Aw, my first born going on his first date." Hali beamed, pulling her son into a hug. The teen was already taller than her, which embarrassed Ryan all the more.
"Sorry son but your Mother would have found out eventually." Atem shrugged. "Now if you would excuse me I have to use the phone to call your Uncle."
"The whole family doesn't need to know! Sheesh, I should just call her and say not to come over if this is the family I'm going to get when she gets here." Ryan grumbled, sulkily.
"I'm not calling Yugi to tell him about your date, it's a business call. Something came up at the museum that I thought he might like to see." Atem smirked.
Ryan was not buying his story. "Right, why didn't you think of it before my news?" he raised his eyebrow.
"I've known about it since last night actually, but since your news was more important to me, I thought it could wait. Don't worry Ryan. Even if Yugi finds out about your new girlfriend, I promise I won't tell your Auntie." Atem said patting his son on the shoulder.
"Tell his Auntie what?" Loretta asked, knocking on the door as she opened it. Ryan rolled his eyes.
"Hey Loretta, what are you doing here?" Atem asked standing up from his seat.
"Probably her kid senses tingled and knew something big was going on." Ryan grumbled.
"Ryan! Behave." Atem growled.
"It's fine Atem. I know what it's like to have an almost teenage boy." Loretta giggled, rolling her eyes. "I came to see if you had heard about what was found and brought to the museum late yesterday afternoon." Loretta said looking at Atem.
"Okay, you can stop pretending. He brought you over to tell you about my girlfriend." Ryan rolled his eyes at the ruse.
"No, idiot, you just told her." Taylor giggled.
"You have a girlfriend Ryan?" Loretta asked genuinely surprise. "Old Temmy never told me that, congratulations, but I am serious. Mrs. Kaiba's team of archaeologists have found something that may have belonged to our mother."
"Don't be surprised, I have my dad's looks." Ryan got back some of his old cockiness.
"Yep, like father like son, way to go Atem." Loretta smirked at her Brother.
"He takes cockiness to a Kaiba level." Atem smirked.
"Maybe he's not your son after all." Loretta teased.
"Don't tease him like that, he looks like a brunette version of him."
"Sorry boys, my apologies."
"When is your girlfriend going to be here? Anna is her name?"
"I asked if she wanted to come around tomorrow afternoon for lunch." Ryan blushed.
"I'll have to make something nice for her." Hali smiled. "You've got confident men that have no trouble getting women in your family, don't worry."
"Thanks Mom." Ryan rolled his eyes.
The next day, Ryan came downstairs, fussing with his t-shirt. "How do I look?" he asked his parents.
"You look great Ryan, are you going to get Anna?" Atem asked.
"Her mom is bringing her here." Ryan explained.
"Oh that must be her now." Atem said hearing a car drive up the drive.
"Oh no..." Ryan moaned, fidgeting.
"It's ok Ryan. Your mother and I will give you space to get to know her." Atem said putting his hand on Ryans shoulder.
"What do I talk to her about? I don't know anything about girl stuff."
"Just talk to her about what you do at school, but make sure you ask her what she likes. Don't just talk about yourself, and you will be fine."
"Thanks Dad." Ryan rolled his eyes as the doorbell rang. "That must be them."
Going to the door and opening it, Atem smiled at Anna and her mother. "Hello, it's nice to meet you. You must be Ryan's friend. I'm Atem, Ryan's father. And you are." Atem asked putting his hand out for Anna's mother.
"Molly, nice to meet you. I'll pick you up later unless you want me to sooner. Have fun." Molly touched her daughter's blond hair briefly before leaving.
"Hi, Mr. Mutou." Anna said shyly.
"Hello Anna, its nice to finally meet you. Ryan is in the living room if you wish to join him." Atem smiled.
Anna went over to the living room and spotted Ryan. "I like your jeans."
"Oh hey Anna. Thanks, I just got them last week. I like your dress." Ryan smiled.
"Oh yea, have fun you two and no funny business. Hali and I will be outside if you need us for anything Anna." Atem smiled walking out of the living room.
"Thank you, Mom. You can go now." Ryan blushed.
"All right." Hali smiled before she left.
"I'm hungry, want to have those sandwiches?" Anna asked, playing with the end of her hair.
"Sure, wait here I will get them." Ryan said as he dashed to the kitchen and then came back with the plate. "Ladies first."
Anna reached for a sandwich and accidentally brushed his hand. She quickly withdrew it, taking a sandwich with her. "Sorry."
"It's fine. You can take more if you want." Ryan nervously chuckled.
Anna smiled. "No that's okay. One's enough." she said, taking a small bite of sandwich.
"So...What do you like to do?" Ryan said as he also took a bite and chewed it slowly.
Anna looked around her and then leaned in. "Can you keep a secret?"
"Of course." Ryan whispered.
"None of my friends know this." Anna whispered anxiously. "I have a huge collection of video games."
"Wow really, that's so cool. Maybe I should take you around to see my uncle after lunch. He owns the Kame Game shop just down the road."
Anna's eyes widened in delight. "You know Yugi Mutou!" she squeaked in surprise.
"Sure do, my dad and Yugi are brothers. You've probably noticed that they share the same hairstyle."
"Yeah, and I noticed that you didn't get it." Anna giggled, her eyes going to his hair.
"Yea a lot of people say I look like my mom but my twin brother Kyle looks more like Dad."
Anna gave him a strange look. "You're identical, right?"
"Yea we are but because we are brothers we like to give each other grief about it. Speaking of my Dad, let me find him so I can ask about going to Uncle Yugi's."
"Dad! Have you been listening to us the whole time?" Ryan asked looking embarrassed.
"Just a little. Now go so you have time to look at what Yugi has at the store." Atem shooed them toward the door.
"You won't be bothering him, he likes customers but it pays to see if he's home first." Ryan chuckled before picking up the phone and dialing his uncle's number.
"Kame Shop, Yugi Mutou speaking." Yugi answered on the second ring.
"Hey Uncle Yugi, its Ryan. I have a friend over who loves games and I said you had heaps that she could look at. Is it ok for us to come around?" Ryan asked.
"Sure, the shop's not that busy. Come on over." Yugi offered.
"Thanks so much, we will be around soon." Ryan said as he hung up. "Yup he said the shop wasn't busy so we can come over."
"Let's go then." Anna smiled, heading for the door.
"Bye Dad bye Mom, I've got my phone if Anna's mom comes early." Ryan called as they walked out the door.
Anna reached for his hand as she walked beside him. "You close to him?"
"My Uncle or my Dad?"
"Your uncle." Anna giggled.
"Well my brother and Sisters and I have all grown up around my uncle and his kids, so yeah I'd say we are pretty close." Ryan smiled at Anna.
Anna took his hand as they walked, finally approaching the shop. "This is it?"
"This is the place. Ladies first." he said as he opened the door for her.
"Very sweet of you." Anna smiled, entering the shop. She spotted Yugi at the counter. "Oh my God, Yugi Mutou!" she squealed.
"Hi guys. You must be Ryan's friend that he told me about. Nice to meet you. I see that you know my name." Yugi chuckled.
"Who doesn't know you if they follow Duel Monsters." Anna's eyes lit up as she went over to him. "You're famous."
"Well I think Ryan's dad is more famous than me." Yugi blushed.
"Maybe, but I bet you know Joey Wheeler and Seto Kaiba." Anna grinned.
"I sure do. Joey is my best friend actually but I think Mr. Kaiba may be Atem's Friend." Yugi whispered and then chuckled.
"I would love to see a real Blue-Eyes card and Dark Magician Girl. Do you still have yours?"
"I think I do. Hey Ryan, would you and your friend like to learn how to duel? I've heard from your dad that you have been learning." Yugi asked raising an eyebrow.
"That would be cool. Learning from the King of Games." Ryan grinned at Anna.
"When is your mom coming to get you Anna?" Ryan asked pausing at the counter.
"She just said later." Anna shrugged.
"Ok, just checking." Ryan chuckled.
"Come on you two follow me. You two can take a seat at the dining table while I see if I can find my old deck." Yugi said as led them into the house and then dashed up the stairs.
Anna stepped closer to him, so he was between her and the kitchen counter. She leaned in and kissed him.
"I see you two are sorting your new relationship out." Yugi smirked at Ryan. "In other news I found my old deck. Boy do these set of cards bring back memories."
"Dad has talked about the adventures you had with those cards. Not all great, I hear." Ryan's mouth quirked up. "And I thought I had a bad temper."
"Yes, well we are not going to go into detail about your father's bad temper. But you wanted to see my Dark Magician Girl, Anna? Here she is along with my Dark Magician. These are my two favorite cards." Yugi said as he looked lovingly at his old cards.
Anna looked amazed as she stared at it. "She's so beautiful..."
"Hey since you are my girlfriend now, Anna, we should go as the Dark Magician and Dark Magician girl for Halloween. You do have blonde hair after all and would look kinda cute in her outfit."
Anna hid her face, blushing furiously while Yugi smirked.
"Sorry Anna I didn't mean to embarrass you." Ryan said as he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. "Excuse me, that must be Dad. Maybe he heard us talking about him." Ryan chuckled.
"Maybe." Yugi replied with a chuckle. "See what he wants."
"Hey Dad, what's up?...Oh ok, yea sure we will be home soon, bye." Ryan said ending the call. "Looks like your mom is at home to get you. Thanks for showing my girlfriend your cards, Uncle Yugi." Ryan smiled.
"Any time. Nice meeting you, Anna." Yugi smiled. He waved as they left.
Anna stopped as they reached his house. "One last thing." She kissed him again and stepped back quickly. "I'll see you at school, Ry."
"Hey not so fast, you have kissed me twice and haven't let me have my chance." Ryan said gently grabbing her wrist and pulling her back to him and then kissing her. "I love you." he whispered in her ear.
Anna's eyes widened. "I love you too." She smiled, her eyes going back to their normal state.
There was a throat clearing from the door. "If you two love birds are done, your mom wants to go, Anna." Atem said, sounding amused.
"Oh sorry, she's coming, Dad." Ryan blushed looking embarrassed "Bye Anna."
"Bye." Anna followed her mother out to the car.
"I heard what you said to her, Ryan." Atem sounded disappointed.
"Please don't yell at me Dad. I do love her. I've just found out now that we share so much in common." Ryan pleaded.
"There's nothing wrong with saying the 'l' word, I'm just concerned you're setting yourself up for heartbreak. Teenage romances aren't always long-term. I was lucky I found your mother when I was a teen. That was just lucky chance. Just don't take it too fast, otherwise I'm going to get a grandkid." Atem scowled.
"Dad! I don't want to hear about your love life with mom. Just leave me an Anna alone, we will be responsible I promise."
"Good. If there's any advice I can give you, let me know. Now get inside. You need to wash the plate you had sandwiches on."
"Yes Father." Ryan groaned as he walked inside, not making eye contact with Atem.