Guess what: I had my first real panic attack yesterday. I've been having pains directly over my heart and I started hyperventilating; it also didn't help that I was freaking out about the pain b/c I thought I was having a heart attack. So I had to go to the hospital. But, I'm okay now.

This really isn't my most popular, but that's because it has made up characters in it. Just give this a try! I think you'll find that it's a little different from other stories like this. It's in the style of a prime-time-TV-drama and very family oriented. Like I said, small parts. I think this chapter will be much better than the other b/c it starts to get the ball rolling, and you may like the way I had Yugi treat Atem in this one. I actually think it's kinda funny.

Anyway, I have a "mock" interview as my final exam coming up in two days, and graduation in two weeks (perhaps both were the causes of the panic attack), and so I really have to focus on the interview right now. There are so many things to look out for that I never knew before! Wish me luck, and enjoy this. I'll have the next chapter of True Obedience up sometime later.

Chao!

---

The next morning, Yugi met up with his friends at school. It started out as a normal day, well as normal as a day with Yugi could get.

"You have a sister?" Tea asked.

"Better yet, you've got a twin?" Joey added. Yugi nodded to both questions at once.

"Yeah; her name's Yoko and she'll be arriving in about a week."

"Why didn't you ever tell us about your sister, Man?" Tristan wanted to know. He placed an arm around Tea, who leaned into him. The brunette boy was basically letting everyone know that they were together and that she was off-limits. The smallest member of the group shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, nothing related to her came up until now." Tea smiled. It would be nice having another female in the group for a while.

"So when are they coming?"

"Sometime next week. My dad's department is getting temporarily reassigned here until they settle this big deal they have to make. They'll be staying for about a month" Joey looked around before asking his next question.

"Do they uh … know?" He asked, lowering his voice to the point where only his friends could hear him. Yugi rolled his eyes as his best friend did this. He would never understand why Joey preferred to keep his sexual orientation on the down-low. Yes, they were all in relationships; Yugi had Atem, Tristan and Tea were together, and Joey was with, although he would never admit it, the infamous Seto Kaiba. Their relationship was a love-hate-affair type of thing; the two hooked up every now and then. It was more of a sexual attraction than anything else. They would argue, have sex, then argue again and the cycle repeated itself. Yugi sighed before he answered to let Joey know that he was a little peeved with him.

"No, Joey, they don't." The boy responded in a much higher voice than the blonde would have liked. Joey panic level had raised at least five levels when Yugi did that.

"Geez, Yugi; ya gotta mention it out loud?!"

"Joey, why do you try to keep it a secret, Man? It's no big deal." Tristan said. The blonde sank into his seat. He really wished they would change the subject now. Tea nodded to her boyfriend's comment.

"Yeah, I'm sure no one would think any less of you." Joey folded his arms and began to pout.

"I dunno whatcha talking, bout, Girl." His street accent became a little heavier. Whenever this happened, it usually meant that he was trying to cover something up, and the others knew it. The brunette female rolled her eyes and exhaled loudly.

"The fact that you just called me 'girl' was a dead give-away."

"Shut up!" Yugi and the couple laughed at their, now blushing, blonde friend's expense. However, Yugi's joy was short-lived. His mind kept drifting back to what his sister and father would think about his relationship with Atem. He knew his father would hate it, but he was not sure about Yoko, and that was what scared him the most.

"I hope they'll be as accepting as you guys …" He mumbled out loud. Tristan leaned into the table and placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder. He knew that Yugi was a person who needed reassurance and this was the best he could do without crossing the line with Tea.

"Hey, if they're that ignorant about something as controversial as this, then is it even worth it to have their approval?" Yugi looked at Tristan after being asked that question. He really had no answer for it at that time.

---

A week came and went. Today was the big day. Solomon and Ashita went to the airport to welcome their guests home. The family was going to go out to dinner to celebrate their reunion. Yugi and Atem decided to stay home to do some last minute cleaning; Yugi also had to make sure that Atem dressed appropriately. After all, the way he usually dressed, his father would greatly disapprove of it. Another reason he decided to stay home was because he was still a little intimidated of seeing them alone. He thought that being next to Atem would give him some more strength to face the two guests.

"Ouch, Yugi, not so tight!" Yugi fiddled with the tie around Atem's neck. The man could perform all the dark arts known in any religion but he was useless with a tie. (*honesty, can you see him in a tie?!)

"Oh, stop your whining!"

"I'm not whining; I'm telling you that you're cutting off my air supply." Yugi's mind was so preoccupied that he was having a hard time tying his lover's tie, which usually he had no problem doing. Yugi wore a pair of navy blue slacks with a white dress shirt and a sky blue tie while Atem's attire consisted of black slacks, a black dress shirt and a red tie. They were the only two colors he would wear.

"Sorry …" The younger mumbled, still trying to do his task properly. Atem could sense Yugi's discomfort even without the use of their mental link. He had to do something, so he decided to try and ease the tension in the air.

"Why do we, or more specifically, I, have to wear nice cloths just because your father and sister are coming into town? Why can't I just be comfortable?" Yugi rolled his eyes.

"Because your idea of 'comfy' is walking around looking like a Gothic stripper." Atem raised a brow. "And besides, we're going to a nice restaurant and you want to make a good impression."

"I do, do I?"

"Yes, you do."

"You honestly think your father is that critical?" Yugi shrugged.

"It's also rude to look pretty and make my sister think you're prettier than her." Atem smirked.

"You think I'm pretty?" Yugi glared and tightened the night he had finally made in the tie. Atem responded with a choking sound.

"Don't get all narcissistic on me; this is about them."Atem loosened the tie and drew Yugi into a warm embrace.

"Well, they're not here now …" This seemed to make Yugi relax. The little one leaned into the embrace. Atem's gentle hands began to massage Yugi's sensitive sides. The boy turned around in Atem's arms, who took this opportunity to kiss his lovely little light deeply. Yugi accepted the kiss and opened his mouth on reflex to show that he wanted to taste Atem in his mouth. The two of them forgot the world around the. It was unbelievable how one simple, little kiss, one innocent touch from this tan, lean man could make Yugi lose complete control of himself. Both boys moaned in pleasure and things began to heat up when all of a sudden, the downstairs door burst open and slammed just as loudly. Dark and light looked at each other when an aggravated voice spoke very loudly.

"Ugh, how can you live in such a confined area?! And it's dirty; you knew we were coming, right?!" Yugi cringed when he felt Atem's annoyance pinch at him through their mental link.

"…Daddy's home." Yugi said with a hint of dread in his voice.

Ashita Moto watched as her husband inspected the living room. The man with short, moose-slicked black hair ran his fingertip over the fireplace mantel. He made a 'tsk' sound while shaking his head. He raised his finger so that his wife could see the dust on it.

"Ashita, you call this clean?! Didn't you do anything while I was away?!" He said in a very critical voice. The red-headed woman rolled her eyes and put her purse away.

"Nice to have you home, Dear." Either the man did not hear her or he ignored her. While the middle-aged man took a more disappointing look around the living room, the front door opened to reveal Solomon carrying armfuls of luggage.

"Thank you for offering to help us with the bags, Toshio!" The old man stated with heavy sarcasm. Behind him, a girl that looked like Yugi came through the doorway with a few bags over her arms. She had her tri-colored hair up in pigtails, with a small stray bang hanging down between her amethyst eyes.

"Yeah, Daddy; You know how bad Grandpa's back is. You could have at least offered before you began your inspection." Solomon chuckled.

"Oh, you're always looking out for me, Pumpkin." The two embraced. Solomon seemed so happy to see his one and only granddaughter after being away from her for so long.

"I missed you, Grandpa."

"I missed you too." Solomon gave the girl a kiss on the forehead. The younger man, now named Toshio, rolled his eyes. Even an outsider of the family could see that Solomon and Toshio were not very fond of each other. Why Ashita decided to come live with him after he left was beyond him. It was at that moment that Yugi came rushing down the stairs.

"Yoko!" The girl turned to the teenage boy that looked almost exactly like her. A smile instantly ran across her face.

"Yugi!" The two teenagers ran into each other's arms and hugged very tightly. The twins had missed each other very much. Both could tell that the other felt lonely after being separated for so long. After a moment, they let each other go.

"It's good to see you, Yugi!" Yugi smiled. Seeing his sister again made his heart soar.

"You too, Yoke." The girl opened her mouth to ask how her twin brother was doing when the sound of a throat clearing interrupted her. Both twins turned their heads toward the sound. Yugi's pupils dilated in anticipation when he saw his father standing there with his arms folded and a small scowl on his face

"Hey, how 'bout givin' your ol' man a hug, Sport?" Toshio said, unfolding his arms and holding them out. Yugi accepted with a smile, trying to ignore the fact that he had been called by the nickname he loathed, but failing.

"Dad, don't call me 'sport'." Toshio shrugged and then both father and son embraced each other awkwardly.

"So, anything new happen?" Toshio asked. Yugi smiled. This was his chance to tell his father about Atem. He knew it would be better to tell him rather than have the man find out on his own. Yugi glanced at his mother, who nodded with a smile.

"Well, it's funny you should say that, Dad. I---"

"Yugi?" Said boy's eyes widened in horror. He turned toward the flight of stairs to see Atem making his way down. 'No, you idiot!' Yugi thought to himself. He wanted to introducehis dark, not have the idiot barge in on them! But it was too late; before Yugi could send the 'no, you idiot' he had thought to the other via their mental link, Atem had reached the bottom of t he stairs and stood next to the smaller. The boy's heart skipped a beat and his cheeked heated with blush. His nervousness was making itself known. He heard Yoko gasp and looked at his father. The man had an angry and defensive look on his face.

"Who the hell is this, and why is he in MYhouse?!" Toshio yelled from the top of his lungs. Atem was taken aback at being spoken to like that. He had never been yelled at by anyone, and this man was not going to start that now.

"Hey, I'll have you know that---" Yugi put his hands on his lover's upper arms, trying to prevent him from finishing that sentence. He could feel Atem's temper continue to spike the longer the two feuding men were in the presence of one another. Yugi thought he had t he situation under control until Toshio approached Atem and stood in his face.

"You're trespassing, Pal." Atem's eyes narrowed to that point where Yugi, Ashita and Solomon knew that nothing good would come out well for Toshio

"You don't even know me!" The ancient Egyptian Pharaoh yelled back. Yugi's eyes widened again when he saw a purple aura start to manifest around Atem's hand. He knew that the ancient one was doing it unconsciously, but it was still dangerous. If Yugi's father was smart, he would have backed off at that point. But of course, the black haired man had no idea that Atem was capable of attempting the impossible.

"Dad, you---"

"You better get your scrawny ass outta my house now, Pal, before I call the cops!" Glares exchanged between the two men. Yugi looked to the rest of his family, wondering why they were not doing anything to stop them. It seemed that they were just as shocked at the situation as he was.

"I LIVEhere!" Atem yelled again. The aura ball in his hand was becoming more noticeable now. Yugi had to stop this.

"Bullshit!"

"STOP IT!" Yugi screamed at the top of his lungs. Five pairs of startled eyes fell on him.

"What did you say to me, young man?!" Yugi gulped.

"I'm sorry, Dad … but he's right; he does live here." Toshio's eyes widened; whether in shock or anger, Yugi could not tell.

"What?! Who is he?!" Ashita placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Well, Dear, if you would give them a chance to speak, they'd t ell you." Yoko stepped beside her father. She wanted to know who this stranger that looked like them was too. Both of them started at Yugi, waiting for an explanation. Atem still had an annoyed look on his face, but went back to stand next to Yugi. Toshio folded his arms, the usual scowled face that Yugi thought he would have been used to by now.

"Well, Yugi?" The boy swallowed the lump in his throat and glanced at his mother and grandfather, who both gave him encouraging looks. He then looked at Atem, whose smile said 'I'm with you.'

"Stop stalling, Yugi!" The boy jumped at the harsh tone he had been given and took in a deep breath before speaking.

"Dad … Yoko … this is Atem." He gestured a hand in Atem's direction.

"Is he a relative?" Yoko asked. Atem's face flashed green for a split second. But despite that, he could understand why she would think that. Yugi fiddled with his fingers, that annoying nervous habit that drove his lover absolutely nuts when he did it.

"N-no, he's n-not a relative …"

"Then who is he?!" Toshio demanded.

"… …" Yugi looked around for help. He hated being the center of attention. It was even worse due to the fact that he was about to drop the big bomb on them when his father was in a bad mood.

"He's …" He looked at Atem one more time. Instead of the supportive smile, an annoyed glare was sent his way.

'Tell them!' Yugi jumped again at the tone; this time because it came from Atem.

"He's … a friend of mine!" Atem quickly scorned at Yugi with shock and annoyance. Yugi could feel his lover's insulted eyes burning holes into his back. He caught his mother roll her eyes from the corner of his vision.

"A friend?" Toshio asked, disbelief clear in his voice.

"Y-yeah, a friend … I met … in Egypt! He's Egyptian." At least part was not a lie. Yugi hated lying; mostly because he was horrible at it.

"So, why is this Egyptian friend here?" God, he hated it when his father put him on the spot like that. Yugi looked at his lover again, but all he received was a cold scowl. Atem stood away from his light with his arms crossed and his foot tapping, practically daring him to continue.

"Well …" How was Yugi supposed to explain Atem's presence without any help? The only rational explanation would be the truth. Just as he was about to confess everything, someone answered for him.

"Well, Toshio, he is a foreigner, and he had nowhere to go. So we took him in." Solomon quickly started. Yugi sent his grandfather a thankful look. However, Toshio did not seem pleased.

"I don't like having strangers in my house. I want him out!" Gasps and surprise filled the room. Even Yoko was surprised.

"What?!" Yugi, Atem, Ashita and Solomon yelled simultaneously. Atem stepped up again.

"You can't do that!" He yelled. He was very angry now, and his anger spiked a few levels when Toshio's response was just an ignorant shrug.

"This is my house; I can do anything I want." Atem was steaming mad now. His tan face had reddened severely from anger. He was going to lash out, but he was stopped.

"No, Toshio," everyone turned to face Solomon, who had a stern look in his eyes and his arms were crossed, "this is MY house; I am the ruler under this room." The younger man just scoffed.

"Yeah, but who pays for it?" The ignorant middle-aged man asked.

"I do …" Atem mumbled under his breath to Yugi. Atem's fortune and treasure from his tomb paid for the house and paid most of the bills. Yugi elbowed him, his way of telling his dark to shut up. Solomon took the floor again. Everyone knew that Toshio was trying to use his status as 'the meal provider' to intimidate the old man, but Solomon refused to let his son-in-law succeed.

"I own this house, Toshio, and I say he can stay!" Toshio walked up to his father-in-law and they stared each other down. This continued for five minutes or s. Yugi was afraid that his grandfather was going to falter, but to his surprise it w as his father that gave in.

"Fine, whatever…" The man stomped upstairs and slammed a door shut. The man always did know how to leave tension in his wake. Yoko shifted from foot to foot. She felt very awkward at the moment.

"So, dinner, anyone?" Ashita asked, hoping to fill the silence. Atem continued to look at Yugi, giving him the same scowl he had been giving for a while now. The boy hated being on the receiving end of that look and never really did think he would be. His shoulders slunk in shame.

Atem and Yugi went back into Atem's room. Ashita, Solomon and Yoko went to get ready for dinner, so that gave Yugi time to fix things in his relationship with his dark … no matter how long that would take.

---

"FRIEND?! I'M ONLY YOUR FRIEND?! IS THAT ALL WE ARE?!"

"But Yami---"

"Because if we are, Yugi, then having sex was a BAD idea!"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I panicked!" Yugi bowed his head and began whining. He was acting a little childish, and frankly, Atem was getting a little pissed with him. "I looked at his angry face and I realized that I'm not ready to tell him!" Tears were streaming down his face. Atem just stood there with his ticked expression and his arms crossed before he sighed.

"I'm disappointed in you, Yugi." The boy hung his head again in shame. The absolute last thing he wanted was to have Atem disappointed in him. That, to him, was the worst feeling in the world, even worse than the shame he received from his father.

"I know …" He lifted his head and Atem saw the real tears in his light's eyes. "You're not gonna tell him, are you?" The terror in the boy's eyes stated what Yugi was feeling. He was drawn between his lover and his father. Sighing at the cute pouting, Atem caved.

"No, that's your burden." Yugi let out a sigh of relief before his dark continued. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not still pissed at you!"

"I know …" Atem turned to the side and crossed his arms, more of an unconscious defense than anything else.

"I'm not so sure that I want to share a bed with someone who's ashamed of me …" Yugi gasped.

"What? No! Yami, I'm not ashamed of you!" The ancient one looked at his light with complete seriousness in his eyes. Yugi felt that those powerful rubies were silently punishing him, and he could not take it anymore. "How can I show you that I still love you?" Atem smirked and one of his hands began making its way around to caress his light's left butt cheek. "No, not now; we're supposed to be going to dinner soon." The dark stepped closer.

"Then tonight; you do owe me, you know." Yugi sighed.

"Oh, alright …" Atem smiled and gave Yugi a kiss on the lips.

---

Later that evening, Yugi decided to have his grandfather drive Atem and him as Toshio, Ashita and Yoko rode together. The three males arrived at the restaurant first. They were a little early and their table was not yet ready for them.

"Boys, I'm going to visit the restroom; be good for just a few minutes, will you?" Yugi rolled his eyes.

"Geez, Grandpa, we're not two!" Solomon chuckled and made his way to the men's restroom. Yugi was about to sit down on the waiting booth that was provided at the front of the restaurant when he caught Atem adjusting his tie. Yugi rolled his eyes once again.

"What did I tell you about that tie?!"

"I'm sorry, but it's too tight!" Yugi got up and adjusted Atem's tie once again.

"That's because you're not used to it! Honestly, at your age you should be able to tie your own tie!"

"I love you, Yugi."

"Shut up …" Yugi had his fingers tangled with his lover's tie when Yoko entered through the tinted glass doors of the restaurant.

"Uh, Yugi …"

"I'm doing the best I can …"

"No, it's um … it's … your sister…"

"What?" Yugi turned around and his eyes widened when he saw her. "Yoko!" He quickly let go of Atem's tie, leaving the poor ancient one to try and fix it by himself. "Hey … uh … where are mom and dad?" Yoko sighed as she walked further inside.

"Where else? Arguing in the car." Yugi's smile fell at hearing that.

"Oh …" Yugi took a good look at his sister. She wore a turquoise satin Asian-style dress with the black and purple part of her hair pulled back, and her blond bangs braided around her head. How she could always fix her hair was a mystery to Yugi. They both had naturally spiky hair, much like their grandfather, but Yoko always knew how to put her hair up into different styles. "You look nice." He gave her a brotherly kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks. So, where's Grandpa?"

"Oh, he's in the bathroom. Our table's not ready yet, so we have to wait a while." Yoko smiled and nodded.

"So, what were you guys up to?" Through this whole conversation, Atem had been looking the other way, trying to tie his tie.

"Oh, you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that." Atem said, returning to Yugi's side and still trying to defeat his toughest enemy yet, the tie. Yugi rolled his eyes and stomped on his lover's foot in order to shut him up.

"Oh for God's sake, let me do it!" Yugi yelled. Yoko watched as Yugi finished tying the red tie. She actually giggled, thinking it was a little funny.

"What's the matter? Never put on a tie before, Atem?" She asked. Being the naturally suspicious person that Atem was, he narrowed his eyes in offense.

"Actually, no; I really have no reason to wear one." Yoko, like so many others before her, felt very intimidated under that glare. Yugi noticed this and stomped on Atem's foot again to get him to stop.

"Stop that!" Yugi glared back.

'Then be nice to her!' He thought to his dark. Atem did not like to lose, even if it was not really a contest, but he backed down.

'Fine.' He turned to Yoko. "Forgive me for my lack of trust, Miss Yoko." Yoko's cheeks flared red.

"Please, just Yoko." Atem rolled his eyes and glanced at Yugi, who was trying to hold back a laugh. Many girls always were always flattered by Atem's charm. He never really notices that he does it until it was too late. Whenever this happened, Atem usually felt either frustrated or uncomfortable. At the moment, it was both.

It was at that moment that Yugi and Yoko's parents came into the restaurant. Toshio wore a full black suit and Ashita wore a cream colored cow-neck dress with a white shawl around her arms. The twins looked at each other without moving a muscle. To the untrained eye, it would look like the two were a happily married couple, but they knew better. This was the act that their parents always put on in public. However, that did not mean that they ever got used to the act. The two giggled and were nuzzling each other, but if one looked closely, one could see that there was quite a gap between their bodies from the hips down. They were also not holding hands. Solomon came back out of the restroom, still drying off his hands.

"Ah, there you are, Solomon. Nice of you to join us." Toshio ignorantly said.

"Likewise, Toshio." Toshio's gaze turned to Atem. The two glared at each other once again.

"I suppose heis going to join us for dinner as well, isn't he?" Atem's fist tightened. He so badly wanted to come up with a snappy come-back, but Yugi held him back.

'Calm down; it'll be over soon.' These mental words soothed Atem's anger. The glare in his eyes faltered and a fake smile replaced it on his face. Sensing the tension, Solomon clapped his hands once to get everyone's attention.

"Well, I believe our table is ready. Why don't we all enjoy a nice, peaceful dinner, shall we?" He followed their hostess, followed by Ashita and then Yoko. Toshio glared at Atem for a second longer before joining.

"You really think this man's opinion is important?" Atem asked. Yugi shrugged. He took Atem's hand and they began walking after the others.

"He's my dad."

"Well, I want to kill him."

"I know, but not right now."

Dinner was very uncomfortable. Toshio kept glaring at Atem, who glared back. Yugi tried to make conversation with his sister, but they had been apart for so long that they barely had anything in common anymore. Whenever it seemed that an argument was about to start up, Ashita would always change the subject. Yugi was grateful for her intuition when it came to that. And finally, at times, Atem would try to slide his foot along Yugi's leg. However the smaller would always push it away. Once the appetizers came, things seemed to calm down. Little did Yugi know that it was just the calm before the storm.

"So, how's school going, Yugi? Have you tried out for any sports?" The middle-aged man asked. Ashita rolled her eyes while Atem snorted, choking on a piece of his stuffed mushroom. Yugi kicked him again.

"Well, uh no, Dad, but I---"

"Why not?" Yugi hated that demanding tone with a hint of aggravation that his father always used on him.

"Well, I … uh …"

"He joined the Art Club instead." Atem interrupted. Yugi kicked his dark's leg, hard enough to make the silverware shake. "Ow! Stop that!" Atem tried to use his intimidating glare on Yugi. Unfortunately for the dark, Yugi was already immune to it by this point and sent back a glare of his own.

"What do you mean he's in the Art Club?" Toshio looked at his wife, who calmly ate her food as if nothing was wrong. "I thought we decided that he was going to try out for football!" Ashita ignored her husband's tone, but still answered after quickly patting her mouth with her napkin.

"Well, Dear, art makes Yugi happy." She looked toward her son and sent him a loving smile that told him she was proud of him no matter what. Yugi smiled back at his mother. "He's actually quite talented and was even chosen to have one of his works shown in the school art show." Yugi blushed and his mother just continued to smile at him, but his father snorted.

"Talented? I'll tell you who's talented," he looked at Yoko, "my baby, Yoko is talented! She made varsity softball and soccer in just sophomore year, and led her teams to the playoffs!" He bragged. Solomon's eyes lit up.

"Really? Congratulations, Pumpkin." Yoko smiled.

"Thanks, Grandpa."

"She even won Most Valuable Girls' Softball Player. You should see all the trophies my baby won!" Toshio continued. Yoko nodded.

"I talked to a few colleges, and they said that if I'm still good next year, I can get a scholarship." Both Ashita and Solomon praised her with small applause and a round of 'congratulations' while Toshio gave her a kiss on the forehead. Yugi noticed that his father was beaming with pride while he was talking about his sister.

The boy sighed. This was typical; once again, Yoko was seen as the golden child while Yugi was left out in the cold. And now she even had their mother and grandfather praising her. Their father cared more about sports than he did about art. Sensing his light's sadness, Atem gripped Yugi's hand under the table, who gratefully accepted the comfort.

'Are you alright?' The dark mentally asked. Yugi slightly nodded.

'Yeah, I'll be fine.' The boy wanted to keep his lover from worrying about him; but it just ended up causing the dark to do the exact opposite. The saddened tone was soft, but it was there. The ancient one softly caressed the smooth, pale hand in his own with his thumb.

'You know that I love you, right?' Yugi smiled.

'I know; I love you too.'

---

End of Chapter

Next Chapter: Yugi introduces Yoko to his friends, but things do not go as smoothly as was planned.