A/N: Slightly rewriting this author's note. Mates will still be a universe that I will write for, I've just taken a break. But I will definitely revisit the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom during the summer. And due to popular vote in a poll that a did a few months ago in my profile, the couple will be Sorcerer of Dark Magic x Dark Paladin.

I feel as my body finally awakens and I slowly open my eyes, only to close them quickly. The lights are way too bright wherever I am and I pray to Ra that somebody would turn them off. A groan leaves my mouth before I can stop it and I hear somebody walking into the room. My fingers curl around the sheets on the bed and my eyebrows furrow. The bed that I'm laying in is much too soft to be mine. I assume that Dark has something to do with this, considering that the magician was the last person that I remember seeing before passing out.

I hear somebody shuffling around in the room before they stop at the side of the bed. Opening my eyes slowly, I see both Dark Magician and Dark Sage observing me. Both men have a grim look on their faces and it's scary how similar they look right now.

"Are you alright Magician of Black Chaos?" Dark Sage asked me in worry and resist the urge to roll my eyes.

I never found out why the old man continues to call me by my full name and it annoys me constantly. Moving closer to me, Dark Sage places his hand on my forehead. I feel a wave a magic wash over my body before a shiver worked its way through my body. I suddenly feel much better than I have in years, probably even decades.

Moving his hand away from my forehead, Dark Sage moves my chin up so that we're looking at each other. "Do you feel fine, Magician of Black Chaos?"

Scowling at the old sage, I say, "Yeah old man. I'm just peachy. I mean, I'm sitting in some crazy sage's bed, just waking up from being unconscious. So, what do you think?"

The Dark Sage frowns at me and signals Dark to leave for a minute. Dark looks at me in worry, as if he doesn't approve of leaving me alone. But Dark Magician just sighs and nods his head before leaving the room. The door closes softly behind him and silence settles in the room. The tension is stifling, making it difficult to breath.

The old man moves to sit in the chair next to the bed, which I assume that Dark had sat in while I was unconscious. This little fact confuses me for a second and my heart starts to pick up again. I'm not sure why I feel giddy all of a sudden but I take in a deep breath to calm down. There was no reason to get elated over the fact that Dark had been sitting next to me.

"Dark, do you know what happened to you?" the old sage asks softly.

Blinking a few times, I slowly shake my head. "No, I'm not aware. All that I remember is becoming very dizzy before passing out."

The sage and I stare at each other quietly, neither of us making a move to speak before the silence finally got to me. I try to sit up in the bed, only to be halted by Dark Sage. He shakes his head and signals me to lay back down. Groaning in annoyance, I do as he says.

The sage sighs deeply and rubs his temples. This makes him appear much older, something that I didn't think was possible. He looks at me and says, "You know Chaos, I think of you as my son. You remind me so much like my sons back at home. Powerful, stubborn, and hard-headed. But they have a good heart, like you. Willing to look out for their friends and family, even if it means that they have to go to the graveyard."

My eyebrows furrow as I take the Sage's words to heart. Dark Sage rarely talks of his sons and this fact surprises me. His sons were implied to be a subject that the older sage never wanted to talk about due to the fact that he may never see them again. The old man never fully explained why he suddenly decided to hang around me when he first showed up until today. Hearing this fact now though, I was strangely proud to be compared to the sage's sons. But I can't shake the feeling that there was something he wasn't telling me something.

I observe the sage silently. "What are you trying to say?"

The Dark Sage sighs and rubs his face with his hands. "You have found your mate Chaos. I believe that's why you've been suffering from dizzy spells. It was because your mind and body was trying to get used to the feeling of having another presence inside."

My head slowly nods as I take in this information. Looking up at Dark Sage, I tilt my head to the side. "Would you happen to know who my mate is?"

The Sage looks hesitant to share who my mate is, which causes a ft of burning rage to go through my body. I have just found the one thing that has been deemed impossible in the Monster Realm, and Dark Sage was willing to stand in-between all that? I don't think so.

Growling out threatening, I glare at the Sage. "I want to know who my mate is! Now!" I shout.

Dark Sage recoils back before he bows his head. Sighing in defeat, the Sage pushed back his white hair. "It is Dark Magician. He is your mate."

My eyes grew wide as I took in the sage's serious look. My breath comes in faster and faster until it feels like I can't breath at all. I start to hyperventilate and I curl my body into a ball. There is no way that we can be mates. It's impossible. I hate Dark and I'm pretty sure that he possesses some sort of dislike towards me too. My body tenses and I bow my head onto my knees. I vaguely heard Dark Sage curse before he places a hand on my back.

"Chaos, you need to calm down or you're going to kill yourself!" the Sage shouted.

Dark Sage leans down and began reciting ancient spells that were no longer in use. The old man's soothing voice surprisingly calms me down, slowly but surely. The hand on my back slowly starts to rub softly to relax me. Eventually, I am calm and I uncurl my body.

I try to wrap my head around the fact that I now have a mate. It is very rare for Duel Monsters to find their mate since there are over thousands, perhaps even millions, of monsters spread out across the land. The narrow minds of most Duel Monsters did nothing to help matters either.

Mates were very similar to the human version of soul mates. But there are some major differences as well. Mates were not forced to be together forever in the next life. But, most mates end up staying together when they reach the graveyard anyway due to the bond. The bond that two mates share can't be compared to any other relationship. That's why mates were thought be a myth, because such a bond couldn't be explained.

When finding a mate, there was no such thing as love at first sight. Two mates could look at each other and never know that they were mates. Two mates could even end up hating each other. But the bond between two mates can't be fulfilled if there is a vast amount of negative feelings floating around between the two,which explains why Dark and I never knew that we were mates. My hatred for the other magician must have been blocking the connection.

With all my thoughts rolling around in my head, I never notice when Dark sits next to me until he places his hand on top of mine. I jump at the contact and feel goosebumps appearing on my skin. I move my eyes up to gaze at Dark's. The emotion in his eyes were so intense, so much so that I have to duck my head down. My eyes just stare at out hands, which have become intertwined with each other. A soft laugh causes me to look at Dark again. My eyes lock with Dark's and before I could stop myself, I feel myself kiss him. I notice vaguely that his lips were soft, softer than I thought they would be. My eyes flutter shut and I fully take in the pleasure of kissing my mate. His lips mold with mine and feel his hands clasping mine in a tight hold, which weirdly didn't bother me.

I pull away slowly and gaze into his eyes. Several emotions are floating throughout, nearly drowning me due to how intense they are. Happiness, shyness, fear, lust, and love. So much love. Gasping, I grab the back of his head and pull his lips back to mine. This time, I feel an electric shock traveling through my body, causing me to shiver. Dark apparently feels the same strange feeling because he moans and grips onto my shoulders tightly. In the back of my mind, I can feel the bond finally forming and all the emotions that I've locked up inside releases itself. I moan happily and broke the kiss, placing my head on Dark's shoulder.

"It's finally happened," Dark sighs happily. I pull my head away and look at Dark in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I remark softly. Dark chuckled.

"You mean you really didn't know that we were mates? With the amount of time we fight everyday? We were like a married couple." Dark pecks my lips and lays me back on the bed while he cradles my head on his chest.

I laugh and breath in Dark's scent. "I guess you're right. But I hope you know, you're the wife."

I kiss his nose playfully before I start to doze off. It would probably take a couple of seconds for the other magician to process what I said. In the back of my mind, I vaguely hear Dark chuckle before he freezes.

"Wait, what?" Dark asks in outrage. I laugh in my head while Dark tries to wake me up.