Common disclaimers on the characters of Yu-Gi-Oh because they rightfully belong to Kazuki Takahashi-san. I don't own them, so don't sue me! I have very little money to spare as a college student.
AN: This is a prequel of sorts to my story, Family.
Dedicated to my cousins who are experiencing parenthood once again. Happy Holidays everyone!
Parents,
By Winterwing3000
The sound of the keyboard clicking away echoed in the large study room. Each key stroke was struck with precision and meaning. The cursor on the screen flew rapidly across the row before it was redirected elsewhere by the return key. Letters and numbers came to life on the screen as black against white. Eventually, it reached the end of the document and blinked in wait for its next instructions. The mouse made its move as it whizzed over to the print icon and selected it.
There was a hum and a few mechanical ticks from the printer before sheets of papers rolled through and stacked one on top on another. As the printer completed its job, the document on the monitor was saved and closed.
A digital image was centered on the desktop background. It was a woman standing on the sand in the midday sun facing the person holding the camera. On her dark brown head was a wide-brimmed sun hat decorated with a cluster of bluebells. A matching cream and blue patterned sundress covered her body. There was a black sash tied just below her breasts, emphasizing the soft swell of her abdomen. A large surprised smile was on her face, with her sky-blue eyes widened in amazement.
Exhaling softly, cobalt eyes stared at the computer screen. That image was taken two months ago, just as she was entering her third trimester. It was hard to believe that so much time had already passed.
He could barely remember the day when she told him of the news. Luckily they had been both sitting down at the time and according to her, his blackout time was significantly shorter than many of the men around the world who suffered the same embarrassment. Though he did not outright tell her of his shock, he saw her knowing look and only smiled softly before heading off to take a hot bath.
When left alone in the bedroom, he had time to do some much needed wool-gathering.
Children.
Thinking back now, he couldn't help but laugh inwardly at his reaction. He shouldn't have been extremely shocked. It was something that they discussed prior to getting married. He personally preferred two children and she agreed with the idea, since they both grew up with a sibling. But he always thought that he could spend more time with his wife to enjoy the bliss of marriage. Fatherhood was not in the immediate future, not in his plans at least. But he supposed that it was about time they started a family. Two years into their marriage and he could tell that she dearly wanted a child.
The only thing he had yet to figure out was how he was going to be a father to the child. There were no such things as classes to teach a man to be a father. Even though he did his best in watching out for Mokuba's well-being during their youth, he took very little part in his brother's babyhood. Even if he were to emulate his biological father, the memories of the past were too vague. And their adopted father Kaiba Gozouborou was the last man to be considered the ideal father.
So then what? Where was he supposed to even start? He doubted that he could distinguish when the baby would be hungry or sleepy. Also there were more than just those responsibilities as a parent, he was sure.
He could always leave the children in the care of hired help, but a knot grew in the depths of his stomach at the thought so he passed it off quickly. The process to find a nanny would be a long and tedious. Not only would he require a background check, but he would also have to personally interview each and every one of them before he was thoroughly satisfied. The last thing he needed was someone holding his newborn hostage. It was not a life that he wanted his children to experience. He did not want them to think that they were born as liabilities to their parents, because it was not true. They were their flesh and blood and they were brought to this world because they were meant to be loved.
A smirk curled at the corner of his lips. That was something he could not imagine himself thinking during his high school days, or before his marriage even.
His wife was most definitely rubbing off on him with her affectionate sentiments. Or maybe it was because he still could not wrap his mind around the idea that in less than two months, a baby would be coming into his life. Even his little brother Mokuba took the news better than he did. The now-teenage Kaiba sibling was ecstatic at the thought of being an uncle and of having someone younger to play with. Somehow, Mokuba became wrapped up in what toys to buy for the baby, what clothes to dress the baby in, and other things that were usually left up to the parents of the baby.
Sitting up, he stretched in his chair and went to pick up the documents. After a thorough skim, he evened out the pages and clipped the papers into a binder. Setting aside the binder, he powered off his computer and picked up the cold cup of coffee.
His dark blue eyes scoured the study before turning off the lights and closing the door behind him. The entire house was already quiet, but he wasn't surprised. It was almost midnight. The house staff retired at ten. His younger brother was currently on a camping field trip with his class and would not return for another day. His wife was most likely already asleep, since she tended to get tired more easily.
He made a quick trip to the kitchen before returning upstairs. As he walked down the hallway, he passed by Mokuba's bedroom door. A wood plaque with his name was hanging on the door. Two doors later, the door was opened. With a momentary pause, he walked into the room.
Across from the door were large bay windows. At the moment, there were no curtains, but he knew that they were in the process of picking them out, so the room glowed from the darkness. Lining the edges of the windows were stuffed animals of different sizes and colors. Even without the lights on, he could tell that the room was freshly painted by the smell. He remembered that they decided on a pale green color so that the baby would have a serene atmosphere. A chestnut colored crib was placed to the wall on the right of the door with a mobile hanging over it. At the night table, a baby monitor was already set up. A short cream drawer sat next to the door, along with a painting hung on the wall. It was a picture of an open meadow with colorful flowers and blue skies.
A frown appeared on his face when he saw that the left side of the room was almost empty.
Closing the door gently, he made the rest of the way down to the master bedroom. As quietly as he could, he opened the door and stepped inside. He was surprised to see that the room was lighted. His wife was sitting against the headboard with pillows cushioning her back. The blankets were pulled up to her midsection, the bump evident in the soft light. Her hands cradled a book, which she set down when he entered.
"Seto-kun, did you finish the proposal?" she asked with a smile in greeting.
He nodded. "Yes, it's all ready for the meeting. Why aren't you asleep yet, Anzu?"
Her smile grew wider and he knew that she was going to be playing one of those guessing games that she suddenly grew fond of. "I couldn't sleep, that's all."
"Is that so?" He began to change into his sleeping attire as she hummed. If she wanted to play, he might as well indulge her. It shouldn't be terribly hard to play now since they have played it numerous times. "And what was keeping you awake then?"
"Well, I was thinking about the days to come," she told him with stars in her eyes. "Like what names we should name our baby, or what kind of things he or she will eventually like."
"You realize we won't get to name our child until its birth," he told her. He walked over to the adjoined bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. The door was left ajar.
She told him that she didn't want to know the sex of the baby when they last went to her last checkup during the ultrasound. That did not mean he was not tempted to learn of the child's gender. He thought he would be more prepared if he knew that way, he would be able to know how to raise the baby. He hoped that it was a boy since he knew more about the male sex. He also understood that there would be a lot less worries when he had a son.
She waved her hand in a dismissive motion. "That only means we can have a few handy until the time comes. Do you have any in mind? I know I do and I want us to agree on one boy name and one girl name."
He sat down on his side of the large bed. She was much more talkative than usual. Normally, she was so exhausted that not a peep came from her. Tonight was not the case. Was it the baby keeping her up? But baby names? He couldn't say that he thought too deeply about it.
"For a boy, I like the name Hideyuki or Shinsuke," she told him with a grin. She put the book on the nightstand before glancing over at him. He was looking through the latest updates of the company stocks on his smart phone. "What about you?"
He switched off his device and set it aside. "Shinsuke is a good name. What do you think of Masaki?"
"I haven't thought of that, but I like it. For daughters, I want to name her Chiaki," she said to move the conversation forward. After turning off the lamp light, she turned carefully to lie down on her side. "It was my grandmother's name. She and I were very close when I was little, so I want her name to live on. Is there someone like that for you?"
He followed her and lay down on the bed and pulled the covers over the both of them. Her words made him think more seriously of the names for girls. One name came to the forefront of his mind. "My mother's name was Setsuna. She died shortly after Mokuba was born, I don't remember her face very clearly though."
Thinking back, even though he could not recall her face, he could recall the love he received. She was always smiling and always encouraging. His father constantly travelled for his job, so his mother did her best to hold up the household. He remembered how she always made his lunch for school and she picked him up from the local library once her job day was over. At times, even if his mother was tired, she brought him to a bakery and told him to pick out a treat. He wondered if it was one of her ways to avoid the loneliness of their home. He tried not to ask too many questions because he knew his mother was tired, but the first time he asked why she kept bringing him to the bakery after her work day, she only said that it was because she loved him and it made her happy to see him happy.
He felt her hand on his shoulder and her words cut through the dark. "I'm sure she'll be happy to know that our daughter will take on her name, especially since it is you who wanted it."
"Hmm," he grunted. "So what's the final verdict on the names?"
"How about we pick Setsuna and Shinsuke. That way, you can name our daughter and I can name our son. One child for each parent, sound fair?" she murmured with a teasing lilt in her voice.
He shrugged, though somewhere deep inside, he was glad that she agreed on the names. "Let's get some sleep. You have work tomorrow, right?"
She clucked her tongue. "Don't take that tone with me, Seto-kun. You agreed that I can work until a week before the due date. And the dance director has been nice enough to let me teach the children's class, so all I do now is stand around or do stretch routines with them."
"You should be taking care of your health rather than worrying about taking a few months off," he told her sternly as he tilted his head to look at her in the dark. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and he could see her smiling at him. It was still her mysterious smile, as if she had another secret.
"It keeps me from being lazy. And if Okaa-chan works hard, then baby-chan will work hard when he or she grows up," she replied. If possible, her grin widened even more. She reached over to grab his hand. "See, baby-chan agrees with me."
Her small hand guided his larger one over the roundness of her belly. Her warmth seeped through her nightgown and into his cool fingers. They held their breath as they felt the baby shift once. Then they both felt little knobs pushing against their interlaced fingers.
He felt his breath hitch as the baby pressed either its hand or foot against his palm. The baby inside was something he helped create. But could he protect and raise it properly? Life held so many uncertainties and he could not possibly predict them all to shield his child from them.
"We'll be good parents, Seto," she whispered softly to him as she squeezed his hand reassuring. "As long as you are with me, we can raise our children to be happy and healthy."
He nodded as his fear lessened. Craning his neck, Seto pressed his lips against Anzu's. His eyes were filled with determination. "I won't let you or this child suffer as long as I live."
"I know."
AN: I thought a while before writing this sequel, but this was definitely something I wanted to write. I hope I can make my way back into the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom with some more mature writing (something less cringe worthy to read in comparison to my past writings, haha).
Thank you for reading! Please review and leave some love!