Idea: Beauty and the Beast AU with a love twist.
Summary: Yugi never really knew what love is and it's many varieties it comes in. He grew up with a 'father' who didn't understand it either but thought he had when he meet Yugi's mum. however his 'father' didn't get to experience it and his curse was never broken. So Yugi grew up with the weird and beautiful and was content with his spirit friends until that boy came along.
The night brought forth a thunder storm of deadly proportions that worried a single mother as she made her way through the forest on horseback. Her breathes came out harshly as the horse galloped in between the trees and over fallen logs. She held on tightly to the reins with one hand as she cradled a bundle against her body. When she could she would look down to make sure her bundle of joy was fine. Despite the harsh weather and rocky riding, her little baby boy was sound asleep against her. With a gentle smile she looked on ward once again and was relieved to see some sort of house ahead of her. "Thank Kami. we're going to be okay Yuugi"
As they broke through the line of the forest the winds hit them full force that the horse was nearly knocked over because of it. He reared back to regain it's footing and judged for himself to move to be on the safe side of the house. The horse huffed and shook his head as he felt his mistress slide off his back.
"Thank you friend" She whispered by his ear as she petted his wet neck gently and took a hold of his reins to lead him to the shed that she spotted. "Stay here for me, I need to go get Yuugi warm and I'll see if there's any blankets for you"
He lowered his head in understanding as his ears twitched every so often as to be alert to his surroundings. She smiled at this and rubbed his cheek before edging along the house side to head to the entrance. She moved as quickly as she could against the high wide and slid into the house once she got the door opened.
The place looked deserted for the most part as the entrance hall was covered in cobwebs and paint on the walls were peeling. She worried her lip as she looked over her surroundings and made note that she couldn't complain too much when she finally found shelter. She looked down at her baby once more, knowing that whatever happens that this was the best choice for them, cradling him with both arms now she went to the first door on the left.
Her blue eyes brightened up when she entered the room and found there to be an open hearth in the middle of the room. Being wary of the tatami flooring she made her way into the middle and set about getting a fire for Yuugi and herself. So absorbed in her task she didn't realise that she was being watched. It took a couple of tries but she managed to get the fire going and cheered when she succeeded.
In doing so it caused toddler Yuugi to startle and waken with a cry. This caused her to look down at her little one in bewilderment. "We've been riding in a thunderstorm, which you have slept through, and it's my cheering that wakes you? you really are a silly thing aren't you"
Yuugi just whined in reply and wriggled against her. He just realised how wet he was feeling and didn't like it. Quickly as she could she slide off her cloak, revealing her chestnut coloured hair, and started undoing the wrappings that held her baby to her.
"Hush hush Yuugi, Mama Anzu is doing the best she can for you, you just have to be patient with me" She cooed softly as she managed to do the final note in the wrap to gently settle Yuugi close enough to fire to get some heat. She ran her teeth over her lip as she watched Yuugi turned his blue violet eyes towards the fire instantly. "Now don't touch. I don't want you getting hurt okay?"
He babbled as if understanding her words as he smiled a toothy grin that had her smiling in return. Those smiles with his chubby cheeks always made her happy no matter what the circumstances. He babbled some more before turning his attention back to the fire to jut stare at the shape it was making.
Content that her son wasn't going to move for a little bit, Anzu took in a bit more of her surroundings, scanning with her aegean sea coloured eyes, she noticed that despite it's unkempt state, there was some areas cleaner than others. The part they were resting in appeared to be the main living area as there appeared to be a right angle sofa on the other side of the hearth. The corner appeared to have been the most used as the cushions were the most sunken compared to the rest. If it wasn't as dusty as it looked she could see herself throwing herself into the corner to curl up with her baby boy for nap times.
Shifting her weight she caught the attention of Yuugi, as he was getting bored with the fire now, despite the interesting shapes that were being made to keep his interest. He struggled to sit up but eventually managed to do so then got to his little feet. He held out his arms towards her and made 'uhh' sounds, meaning he wanted picked up.
"Got bored did you?" She scrunched up her nose as she smiled and went over to pick him up. This rewarded her with a giggle and a hug before he clapped his hands happily. She rubbed her nose with his as she placed him on her hip. "Let's go exploring shall we?"
She checked to make sure the fire was calm enough to be left alone but had turned around before she could see a faint outline of a small boy taking shape. Yuugi however noticed over his mother's shoulder and smiled at the boy before pointing his arm in the direction he wanted his mother to go. Anzu just giggled at his actions as she stepped to the raised area of the main room which seemed to be the eating area. She walked past the low table to the left to nudge a door gently open.
They peered through the door curiously to find the that it lead into a nice sized kitchen area. Anzu noticed right away that the sink was the cleanest area to the rest which made her wonder if people had been by this house before just like them. She looked at Yuugi to see that he was looking at the windows watching the rain drops slide down them. She spoke softly as to not disturb him to much "Do you like the raindrops Yuugi?"
He clapped his hands again and did a little wiggle on her hip as he reached out towards the window. He was making 'uhh' sounds once again that had her smiling once more as she made her way over to the sink and brushed some of the dusty plates to the side so that she could place her son on the countertop.
He giggled as he stood as steady as he could and smooshed his little face against the window pane. His button nose scrunched up at the texture against his skin an pulled away to suddenly smile as the raindrops shifted to resemble a face. He spoke out softly "Hi"
"Making friends with the raindrops Yuugi?" She asked amused as she checked the tap to see if the tap worked as he babbled in response. The sound of running water entered her ears and she beamed when it hit the sink and looked clean enough to drink. "Thirsty?"
Yuugi turned his head when he heard the water and sat at the sinks edge. He reached his hand out in a grabby motion as he giggled out "Ink!"
Anzu giggled with him as she went about pronouncing the word a couple of times so that the word would sink more. Once happy with the progress she cleaned a couple of cups she found and gave Yuugi the smaller one to drink from. "Careful now"
His little hands held the cup firmly as he drank from it. Anzu sighed but jumped when there was a bright flash outside the window and the sound of thunder quickly followed. She held her hand over her heart and expected Yuugi to start crying however her odd child just sat there giggling and was waving to something outside the window.
"I wonder if I was this odd as a child" She wondered out loud and she wondered if it was her tone that set Yuugi's giggling off once again. Anzu huffed as she put their cups down and picked him up once again. "I promised Knight that we would get him some blankets, so lets go find some as we explore a bit more"
"Dye dye!" 'd' sounds were much easier to say in his little mind but he was getting closer to fingering out the 'b's. He waved his hand towards the two figures that showed themselves near the window before they disappeared from sight.
The pair went back into the hall and found a small bathroom that needed a bit of work to be up to Anzu's standard of clean. They made their way back to the front door to use the stairs, missing a false door that led into another room, and went up them. Neither of them noticed that they were being followed.
Anzu looked around the upstairs hallway and took note of there being three rooms with a possibility of two further down. If it weren't for the peeling of paint, dust and cobwebs, she would see this as being a lovely home in it's hay day. She smiled at that, they needed a home, this place seemed pretty much abandoned, Why not make it theirs?
There was some squirming from Yuugi, meaning he wanted down, She didn't mind much as he was getting pretty heavy. With his feet planted on the groaned he grinned as he looked around to see what he could get into. He rubbed his hands through his curly black locks then tugged the blond bangs as he decides to toddle along to the room on the right.
His mother giggled as she followed him and opened the door when he whined as he couldn't reach. With a quick sweep she could see that is was a bedroom and wasn't in a too bad of state. Depending on the state of the others, she might take this one as their room for the time being. The was some furniture that was covered over with some sheets that she could look at more closely later. She let out a squeak when she head a thud and quickly looked around to see where Yuugi was.
"Ta dah!" He was clapping his hands once again when he managed to plonk himself down on the low set bed. He made his way to the top of the bed where the pillows were and laid himself down with a big yawn.
"Is it sleepy time Yuugi?" Anzu covered her mouth as she was effected by the yawn. She licked her lips as she thought back to why the they rode away in the first place and how much he slept through that. She fought away a sad face as it would upset her little one. She made her way over and quickly shook out the blanket so the dust would go somewhere else. This caused Yuugi to both sneeze and giggle as the dust irritated his nose but the blanket covered him enough that he had to pop his head back out.
"Maaaam" He held his head up a little and made his lips into a thin line that indicated he wanted a kiss that she gladly gave and smiled at. She worried that she was going to get this much love as he got older. So she was going to take while he was willing to give.
"Sleep well my little Yuugi" She smiled sadly as she tucked him in as her mind wondered about what kind of person her little boy was going to be without the 'father' being around. She shook her head of those thoughts as she curled up beside her son and started singing a lullaby for him to go to sleep too. She didn't have to wait long till he went to sleep, she was thankful that he was a easy sleeper, she placed a kiss on his forehead before inching away. He appeared to be safe enough in the bed, meaning that she go get blankets for her horse, Knight, and put out the fire for the night.
In the time that she was gone Yuugi woke back up after hearing a noise. His sleepy eyes turned from left to right as he waited and yawned once again. He didn't hear the noise again and laid his head down to go back to sleep but was startled when the noise happened. He shifted about till he was at the edge of the bed and slipped out. He padded across the floor quickly and made it to the door that was only partly closed. There was a thump, then another, that was coming from the room that was straight of him on the left hand side.
Yuugi titled his head curiously as he made his way to the other room, the floorboards creaking gently under his feet. The door was ajar, so was easy enough for Little Yuugi too open up a bit more and enter the room. From what he could make out of the room, there was a desk to the right and a bed to the left and a window straight ahead. It was a rather plain room but it was the cleanest compared to the rest of what he had seen. Another thump was made that directed his attention to the bed.
The bed was occupied as far as he could tell and saw some movement being made at part of the bed that was closest to him. A grin split his face as it appeared to be a tail that was making the noise. The dark fluffy tail was just twitching now. Yuugi could vaguely remember the neighbour's dog and how fluffy it was when he hug the pet. This brought out a giggle to his face as he ran forward on his little legs and attached himself to the tail with a hug. He squealed happily "Da deeee"
There was a grunt and a deep growl came from the lump upon the bed. Yuugi ignored it as he held onto the tail tightly and was rubbing his face against it. There was another rumble as the lump moved from under the covers, revealing more dark fur, as it tried to shift it's tail from the nuisance. When it's tail didn't come free, it moved slowly so that it could sit up on it's side, and look down upon the thing attached to it's wolf like tail.
"Da deee" Yuugi grinned without a care when he was eye level with the creature holding him up by their tail. He still held on tightly too it since he was up in the air.
The creature sniffed near his face, causing the little one to giggle, and took in the new scent. He spoke with a voice that seemed to grow from the belly that he growled out. "You're new here. What happened?"