Yugi: 4 years old

"Yami?" Yugi asked clearly, twirling a fork between his fingers with a half-full bowl of spaghetti sitting in his lap. By now, with 10 months of Atemu and Yugi living together as a family, the meals, though still simple, were now quite tolerable…good, even. Yugi didn't eat excessively, but he did eat healthily, and when he was hungry, instead of just staying quite like before, he shyly asked. Atemu never turned him down…he was just too grateful for an appetite out of the smaller. "Where do babies come from?"

Atemu, who was rapidly typing a report to his superior, his fingers flying gracefully over the keyboard, stopped abruptly and unconsciously widened his vampire eyes as his mouth dropped, "W-what?"

"Where do babies come from?" He repeated with an adult-like patience, raising his amethyst eyes from his fork and looking at the now-still vampire that was on the computer with interest.

"Umm," Atemu said, blinking and opening and closing his mouth, then turning in his swivel chair to address him properly. Yugi, though still very small, was now an appropriate weight, and had grown a couple of inches since his first doctor's visit. His violet eyes were big…just like his heart. Yugi was growing up to be so kind…so kind, in fact, that Atemu hoped that he wouldn't end up as a pushover. But that was still a while to come. "Well…" He's never had to think about an answer to this inevitable question, "They come from a mommy and a daddy." Atemu metaphorically crossed his fingers, hoping that his answer would be enough. But knowing Yugi…

"How?"

"Well…through…" Atemu sent his dead brain into overdrive, "…love."

"…Oh, okay," Yugi said, becoming very silent and going back to his spaghetti, though now he pushed around more than he clumsily ate.

Atemu didn't like the sentence. It was just too unsettled. There was something uncertain hiding in the young boy's mind, but Atemu knew not to push his mind or his mouth, and just turned around and started tapping on the computer keys once more.

He typed for a full minute, before, Yami? Yugi said so softly, twirling his spaghetti absentmindedly. He fell silent, though, as did the clacking on the computer. Atemu just waited. It would come if he didn't prod, and just said patiently, I wasn't like that, was I? Was I…a mistake?

Time stopped, and when Yugi and Atemu next knew what was happening and time resumed, pasta littered the carpet, and Yugi was enveloped in Atemu's shaking arms; unshed tears clung to the vampire's eyelashes, Don't you…don't you ever say that…you aren't a mistake, okay? You matter, okay? It's been a long time since either of them mentioned the past, so long that both of them felt that it never happened.

But it did. The past shaped them, and the past, though just that, would always, unfortunately, be there.

To who? Yugi asked, resting his chin on Atemu's arm and closing his eyes, as if he didn't want to see the world out there, the world that he'd already gotten too much of a good look at. Atemu really didn't know that Yugi was still thinking about what happened almost a year ago. Every single day he probably wondered, yet he was always silent about it…always smiling…

To me, Yugi. I've always wanted a child, but I couldn't. Vampires can't have children, Yugi. I've wandered on this Earth for 3000 years, thinking that I was being punished, but, now that I have you, Yugi, I've realized that I'm being…almost rewarded. I love you, Yugi, and you aren't a mistake. You are the closest thing to a son that I'll ever have. Even if your parents didn't love you…I do. Forever.

Kay, Yami, Yugi said softly, smiling just a little and blinking away the tears that had formed in his big eyes, I love you, too.

Atemu, as he sat in silence with Yugi for a large portion of the rest of the day, his report as well as the pasta forgotten, wondered whether or not Yugi believed him and what he had said. Atemu knew that he was telling the truth, but Yugi…he just couldn't tell. The thoughts that leaked over to him were varied and jumbled. Atemu seriously wanted to know what was going on, but he just didn't have the heart to ask.

"Yami?" Yugi asked after a long time, and Atemu woke from his doze, "Was she pretty?"

Atemu's eyes dropped and softened, "Yes, Yugi, she was. She was very pretty. Her eyes looked just like honey, you know…"

"Then, why?" Yugi's question faded off as if he didn't know what the rest of the question really was.

"Because I didn't like what she did. She took everything that I knew and changed it, including me." It was true, no one liked change, and they feared it. Atemu was no different, but maybe he didn't love Nimataka as much as he thought he did.

But it didn't matter. She was gone now, and Atemu didn't need to know. It was nice to be in love.


It was a good thing that Atemu didn't have a 9 to 5 job. He took his hours when he wanted, for as long as he wanted. Just as long as he met all of his deadlines, he was safe. However, as of late, he hadn't been doing too much work. Yugi had some type of cold, but Dr. Jones said that it was just that…a cold.

It was a good thing that vampires couldn't get sick, but they could get tired, and tired Atemu was. He felt extremely sorry for the child, as he was fidgety, shaky, fever ridden, and anything that even slightly resembled an appetite was thrown out of the window by Yugi's stomach. But Atemu couldn't sleep. He was awake when Yugi was awake, and when Yugi slept, he had to work and catch up on a report to some superior or another. He forced himself to keep his eyes open.

"Yami," Atemu blinked blearily a couple of times, then turned his head to see a pale, tousle-haired, chapped-lipped Yugi. He had Alphonse tucked under one pajama clad arm, and in his opposite hand was a light colored fleece blanket. His violet eyes were glassy and tired.

"Aibou," Atemu said, spinning his chair slightly and putting Yugi in his lap, "What's wrong? Weren't you sleeping?"

"I don't want to. I wanna sit with you." Yugi said piteously, dropping the blanket and grabbing onto Atemu's thumb, "Please?"

Atemu smiled softly as he noticed that Yugi's breathing was less constricted than before, "Okay, but…you have to sit quietly while I work. Okay, aibou?"

"I love you, Yami," Yugi said, leaning back into Atemu and coughing slightly. His eyes closed slowly, and Atemu felt his forehead with a hand that was by now trained for this type of thing. It was still warm, but his fever was going down slowly. Atemu kissed his messy hair softly, and before he finished his document and sent it, Yugi was fast asleep.


Atemu sat up straight on his seat; he smelled something. It was so familiar, so close, yet he couldn't seem to remember what it was. He stood up stiffly and then sniffed again, realizing that it was coming from Yugi's room.

He had had a room furnished for Yugi a couple of weeks ago. He painted it, put in some new and used furniture, and now Yugi slept there. Sometimes Atemu slept there, too. Nevertheless, Atemu was completely and utterly hypnotized by this scent.

It was so…intoxicating.

"Yugi?" Atemu said slowly, pushing open the slightly ajar door fully and stepping inside. Yugi was sitting on the off-white carpet and leaning on his bed, holding his arm tightly as tears slipped down his face, one after the other. Atemu was by his side in an instant, both his concern for the child and his awareness of this strengthened scent overwhelming. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm fine," Yugi managed to sniff out. What was that that Atemu felt in his mind? …Was it fear? Atemu finally realized what this scent was as he looked down at Yugi's small hand clenching his arm. It was blood, which dripped down his arm, onto his clothes, and into the carpet, which was already stained with spots of the dark red life-substance.

Atemu hadn't tasted human blood in over 10 months, and how sweet it smelled. He blinked as he noticed Yugi turning away from him, and that fear grew stronger with every breath out of the smaller. Yugi was afraid of Atemu? "Aibou…let me see, I can help it, okay?"

"No," Yugi said quickly, his tears falling down his face at a higher speed. Atemu couldn't believe this. Yugi though that he was going to try to feed off of him again, and his fear really wasn't too far off; Atemu could feel the demon inside of him rising, trying to shove his humanity out of the way and devour the small boy before he could even cry out. Yugi thought that Atemu was going to tell him to leave again; he thought that he was going to get hurt again.

But he promised that this wouldn't happen again! "Yugi," Atemu took a deep breath and tried to squash down the blood lust, "What happened? You don't have to show it to me…just…tell…me…what happened…" He was now breathing regularly himself, shoving air down his dead lungs, trying to calm himself down. He could hear Yugi's heart beating, and could see the blood still leaking out of his system.

Not again.

"Something sharp at the end of my bed." That was all that Yugi said, but he still wouldn't look at Atemu; he was still too afraid. "I fell down."

Atemu tore his eyes away from the liquid with difficulty and looked at the corner of the bed, where the metal frame jutted out from underneath the mattress. He could fix that easily enough with some padding, but Yugi would need more than a little bit of foam.

He was terrified of Atemu and what he was capable and incapable of doing, yet he was in pain, and Atemu could feel it through their link and on his own arm. It was deep, and it needed to be tended to.

Yet what could he do? If he so much as touched Yugi, he didn't think that the smaller would ever trust him again, especially after he promised. If he touched Yugi when he was feeling like this, and felt his warm skin.., then he knew that it would be all over. He promised that Yugi would never feel threatened by him again, yet he was toeing the line as if he were blind, and he couldn't walk this world like that.

If he fed off of Yugi, then Yugi would die, and he couldn't do that to the smaller. He didn't want to, but at the same time...he wanted to so badly.

Atemu stood up, his guilt easily overpowering his lust, and left the room. There was nothing he could do. In this situation, he was powerless, and he knew that he would never be attracted to Yugi's life blood scent ever again. Not with this guilt that he was feeling. He couldn't even help Yugi with this problem; how could Atemu have thought that Yugi would just forget about what he did?

It was Atemu's fault that his parents found him again, and it was his fault that he had a scar on his forehead. It was his fault that he was ridden with nightmares a couple of times during the week…

Atemu threw himself down on the couch and stared at the white-tiled ceiling; that was the only thing that he could do at this point. He couldn't help Yugi, and he'd have to wait and see what would happen. Would this realization by Atemu and the feelings that Yugi was hiding for so long...would this ruin everything?

He dozed there for a full five minutes, his mind blank, his dead soul guilt-ridden, and then something happened that shocked him senseless. He heard uneven breathing in front of him. "Yami…"

Crimson eyes shot open and the owner of said eyes shot up to a sitting position. Yugi was there in front of him, his arm bleeding freely, his lower lip in the grasp of his jaw. For once, his eyes were completely unreadable, saturated with so many emotions and so much else, too. For a timeless second they just sat there, staring, and then with a soundless click the smaller flew into Atemu's arms and started sobbing openly. Atemu held him close and brought him up to his lap. "Yugi…please don't cry…its okay…" But was it really?

He grabbed a handful of napkins from the coffee table in front of them and gently pried Yugi away from him. It must have taken a lot for Yugi to come to Atemu in the first place, to swallow his fear and to place blind trust in the vampire, but his body wasn't agreeing with his mind when Atemu took a gentle hold on his arm and lightly brushed the blood away. He applied a little pressure to it, and Yugi stiffened as his breathing picked up.

The bleeding stopped after awhile, and Atemu threw the tainted paper aside. He knew that he was going to have to clean out the wound and properly bandage it, but not now. He enveloped Yugi into his arms, and the smaller relaxed dramatically into the embrace when Atemu laid them both down on the cushions.

Yami, will you fix my bed later? Yugi asked, snuggling into Atemu, his mind once more at ease. A certain cloudiness of Yugi's mind was gone now, and Atemu closed his eyes with the relief that for now, everything was going to be okay.

Atemu nodded and began to lightly stroke Yugi's soft hair, Of course, we can do it together, okay?

Okay…I love you, Yami…

I love you, too, aibou. The phrase then meant more to Atemu than anything. It was one more hurdle that the two of them leaped just then, and their shaky relationship was now protected just a little more with a layer of trust…trust and understanding.


Yugi: 5 years old

'To the Parent(s) of Yugi Atemu.'

Atemu stared at the envelope in his hands as if it were hentai; it had the seal of the town of Domino on it, and, truth be told, it looked rather ominous and unwelcoming. What could the town want with Yugi? Anything to do with custody or law would be federal…or at least county, so what could it be?

Atemu watched Yugi sitting on the couch with Alphonse next to him. He was so cute sitting with one arm around the bear and the other holding a beginners chapter book crookedly with chubby little fingers. He was reading, apparently, to the bear, and every so often he'd stumble on a difficult word. Sometimes he was able to figure out the word for himself, and sometimes Atemu had to help him; pretty good for his first chapter story, though.

But what could the town want with him, or, rather, his supposed parents? Atemu paid his bills and taxes, and didn't belong to any clubs or the library. They really both had absolutely nothing to do with the town of Domino, other than the fact that they lived in it.

As Yugi flipped the page with just a little hassle and glanced at Alphonse before continuing, Atemu took a large breath that was only to calm him and slit open the envelope with a elongated fingernail. He did his best to swallow all doubts, and unfolded the paper fully as he scanned the first paragraph.

"…" A small smile graced Atemu's lips and he reread the letter; he'd forgotten about this. "Aibou," He said, sitting down on the couch and pulling the smaller into his lap as he gently plucked the book out of his hands and bookmarked it, that small smile still playing about his lips. Yugi sat quietly, apparently nonplussed, "Aibou, you got a letter today."

Yugi's face instantly brightened, "Really? Can I read it, Yami?" Atemu nodded largely and handed over the letter before wrapping his arms around his little waist, "Yami, what does 'esp-es-cee-all-ie' mean?" He asked after a few seconds of reading slowly, following his fingers along the lines with a small hand.

"It's another word for 'very,'" Atemu said, smiling slightly and allowing himself to share Yugi's body heat; Yugi was always eager to share.

"Okay," Yugi said brightly, glancing at Atemu with his round amethyst eyes before turning his head back to the paper. Atemu waited while Yugi read the words to himself, once again stumbling every few lines. Atemu listened closely, and felt Yugi's heart speeding up slightly in excitement. Sure, fulfilling this 'invitation' would be a hassle, and it would probably raise some awkward and hard to answer questions, too, but Yugi was brilliant, so he deserved to learn. He was kind, and deserved to make friends..

"Yami?" Yugi asked, craning his neck to get a look at Atemu, "Do I really get to go to school?" He, of course, already knew that answer to this, and when Atemu affirmed it, his already bright smile grew, "When?"

"3 weeks," Atemu said, accepting and returning Yugi's hug. They sat like that for a while, when Atemu frowned. He knew of their bond, yes, but when Yugi, in 3 weeks time, left for school, all alone, it could be a problem.

Even after two years, Yugi did not like to spend too much time alone. He could sleep by himself now, yes, but Atemu knew that he still had nightmares, as he comforted him when the smaller had tears. Yugi was incredibly sensitive, and even though he had every right to be, it could still be a problem when he had to go off all alone.

Atemu couldn't go see him off in front of the school yard every day, and he couldn't come and pick him up, either. He'd never get to participate in Father/Son school-sponsored activities, either.

Was this really a good idea?

It didn't matter, though, whether this was a good idea or not, because the gun was already fired. "Love you, Yami," Yugi whispered, and he fell asleep in Atemu's arms.

There was no going back with a bullet.

To Be Continued


Author's Notes: This chapter was revised on 7-12-06.

Thanks to all reviewers!

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