Notes: So…. I got hit with a bad case of writer's block thanks to... Some stressful stuff going on. But thanks to some wonderful people I'm happy to call my friends, I felt so encouraged that I've managed to make this silly piece to finally properly introduce an AU of mine that I like to call the Family AU.

Why is it called that?

Well, let's find out!

Juudai was not sure if he was feeling excitement or fear. Perhaps it was some weird combination of the two.

What is he going to say?

…Maybe he should just stay quiet and smile?

Yeah.

That sounds right.

But what kind of smile?

Maybe a "Long time no see!" smile…. Or the "I know I should have kept in contact more but…. I missed you?" kind?

Mmm….

Oh! Maybe he should just grin and say "Hey! Missed me?"

It might earn him a slap on the face but Shou's reaction would be so worth it.

"Juudai, your legs are shaking again." The young duelist could feel Yubel's mocking smirk.

He giggled.

God, Shou can't open the door fast enough.

It feels as if he has been standing around for years and it hasn't even been a minute yet.

Or…. Has it?

Huh, maybe he should just knock again.

The door was suddenly unlocked.

Well, never mind.

Juudai smirked, preparing himself to finally surprise his best friend after such a long time.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop knocking and just use your key? Ryou, that's literally why I gave it to yo-"

A pair of gray eyes snapped wide open.

Shou's words died right in his mouth.

Juudai had been actually expecting this to happen, and in his mind: he saw himself responding to that shock with a smile. If anything, this was his cue to make sure his plan for this reunion goes perfectly.

However, he could not smile right now.

Because Shou was not the only person in front of him right now.

Juudai stared.

This other person was small.

No, that's an understatement, it was super tiny.

It had greenish-gray eyes and blue hair, the exact same hue as Shou's.

Color wise…. This tiny creature was the spitting image of the man holding it with only his left arm.

Juudai wanted to say something.

But his mouth went dry.

A hundred thoughts invaded his mind, but he could not process them

There was a mess going on inside his head, if Yubel was trying to snap him out of it then he definitely couldn't hear them.

"H-hi."

The young brunette blinked, and the storm in his mind stopped so abruptly.

He tried to reply, tried to let out a simple "Hi."

But a weird sound was all that came out from his throat.

"I…. Um…. I-I wasn't…. Uh…."

Prepared?

Was that what he was trying to say? That he wasn't prepared?

Of course, he wasn't prepared!

Not even Juudai was prepared for an encounter like this.

"S-so! How is it-"

A very high-pitched sound, that Juudai was incredibly unfamiliar with, snapped the two men out of their awkward trance.

The baby in Shou's arm started extending its little hands, trying to reach this stranger standing right in front of it.

"Honey, wait!" Shou seemed to go straight into panic mode, grabbing the infant with both hands and slightly moving his head every few seconds to avoid getting kicked in the face.

The child whined, it kept trying to reach for Juudai.

"I know you are excited, my little fairy!" He tried to laugh but it just made his stress even more apparent.

Juudai blinked, did Shou just called it his little fairy?

That is definitely something he would have never thought he would hear from his best friend.

The baby lets out an "Eeee!" sound, still kicking and reaching.

"I know!" He laughed, as if he understood what the kid was saying. "But remember, honey! Not everyone enjoys having drool all over their shirts!" Now it sounded like he was begging, but the baby didn't care about his argument, she just kept moving.

"What?" Juudai blinked, he did not realize he said that out loud until Shou looked at him.

"S-sorry!" Shou avoided a kick as he spoke. "It's just that she just started teething and won't stop chewing on anything!"

"I-" Juudai started mumbling but it seemed as if Shou wasn't done explaining.

"She also loves meeting new people!"

…. Oh.

So, according to that explanation: this baby is a "she" and… Juudai is a "new people" in Shou's life all of the sudden.

"It's okay." Breathed out, looking away.

Shou must have noticed how troubled Juudai looked. Well, either that or he did an awful job on trying to act natural.

"Why don't you come in?" He still sounded a bit awkward but seemed quite desperate about finding a way to get out of this situation.

Juudai froze for a second, thinking of something to say back.

"Is it gonna be okay with your partner?"

….

In hindsight, he should have known he wasn't thinking of anything good to say.

"…. Partner?" Now Shou was the one who blinked.

"Yeah…. You know…." Juudai scratched the back of his head, trying to smile. "Wife…. Husband…."

Shou froze.

And that caused him to become a victim of his daughter's kicking.

"Ow!" Shou moaned, Juudai winced as he saw the tiny foot collide with his friend's jaw.

Trying to ignore the pain, the young bluenette just sighed and decided to wrap both his arms around his baby. She would end up kicking his stomach instead, but at least his face would be safe now.

"N-no!" He still managed to answer Juudai's question. "I don't have either."

Huh…. Shou recovered quite quickly from that…. Was he really that used to get kicked on the face?

However, there were other questions inside Juudai's head.

"So…. Girlfriend?"-

Shou sighed and shook his head.

"Boyfriend?"

"Nope."

Juudai arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"So…. Is this just a kid you are babysitting?" He asked. "Wait, is she like…. Your niece or something?"

Shou breathed out a soft laugh and then looked back at him.

Juudai noticed the faint blush on his cheeks.

"No…. She's completely my daughter."

….

"I'm confused."

He laughed again.

"And I don't blame you for it." Shou had a smile on his face as he shook his head ever so slightly. "Come inside, I promise to explain everything."

Not knowing what else to do, Juudai just nodded.

"Thanks." He mumbled as he followed Shou, lowering down his gaze when he saw the baby squirm in her father's arms and climb to his shoulder, so she could get another glance at Juudai.

"Oh also…. Just don't make a lot of noise, please." He heard his friend whisper.

"Huh? Why?" He looked up and noticed that Shou had turned around and was blushing again.

"Because you will wake up my other kids."

….

"What?!"

"What did I just say?!"

"S-sorry!"

When they made it to the living room, Juudai wasn't sure of where to look at. His options were to either stare at Shou, the baby on his lap, who was still trying to reach for him, or the other two babies sleeping in some kind of small holder-thingy right in front of the couch.

So, he decided to just force himself to cough and do his damn best to act relaxed.

"So…. You have kids now."

Shou giggled for a second, Juudai couldn't help but to notice it made his daughter stop trying to grab his leg and just make a cheery noise and waive her little arms.

It looks like she likes the sound of Shou's laughter….

Well, for that he can't blame her.

"Yes." Shou nodded, the faint blush coming back to his cheeks.

"And…. Since when?"

"Um…. About eight months." He answered, a bit sheepish.

The young bluenette braced himself for the next question, he was perfectly sure a "Why didn't you tell me?" was coming at any second.

"That's…. That's pretty cool." He heard Juudai mumble.

"Y-yeah." He found himself nodding awkwardly.

Juudai stood quiet for a moment, trying to pick up his words carefully.

"He literally said he would explain it to you, I don't get why you are so nervous." He could tell Yubel was enjoying this, over the years, their particular interest in pain had also spread out to an utter enjoyment of any kind of cringe and awkwardness.

Juudai didn't get it, but he tried to not focus on it.

"So…." He started to blush a little. "Uh…. You said that you would-"

"Right! Right!" Shou giggled. "Sorry!"

Juudai nodded and saw him take a deep breath.

"So…. I kinda…. Hired a surrogate a while ago."

Oh…

What?

"Why" The young brunette seemed genuinely confused.

"Uh…. I just wanted to…. You know…. Have kids." Shou almost whispered. "It was actually something I had wanted for a long time but…. I just kept quiet about it…. Specially if I was dating someone…"

"And…. Why's that?"

"Well…. Not many people are into parenting…. A-and don't get me wrong! That's perfectly fine! But… I did want it so…. I decided to just do it…. All by myself."

Juudai noticed how different had Shou's body language become. He looked down at his lap and hugged his baby close to his chest.

"I just…"

"Don't worry about it."

Shou blinked and lifted his gaze.

"Shou, you shouldn't have to explain yourself if you don't want to." Juudai gifted him a sincere smile. "If this is what you wanted, and you stood by your decision…. Then I'm happy for you. I really am."

Shou's eyes went wide. It seems as if he wasn't expecting to hear that, and yet, he looked so relieved.

He exhaled and then graced his friend with a silly smile.

"Thanks." His smile looked so relaxed now. "It…. It means a lot to hear that from you."

Juudai couldn't help but to grin after that comment, it just made him feel all fuzzy inside.

"A-anyways!" Shou blushed a little, it has been a long time since he saw Juudai grinning at him like that.

He completely forgot about the effect it used to have on him.

Those feelings…. He still remembered how they used to feel despite of how long it has been.

But he was over it!

He has been over it for years.

"I should introduce you to the triplets! Y-you know! Since you here!" Shou seemed a bit flustered as he laughed.

Triplets…. Juudai's mind had to adjust to the idea.

But nevertheless, he nodded.

Shou pointed at one of the sleeping babies.

"This is the oldest." He whispered. "Her name is Ako."

Juudai quickly noticed the warmth in Shou's voice as he pronounced his daughter's name.

He didn't know his friend's voice could sound that soft.

Huh, who knows? Maybe it was a dad thing.

"Ako…" Juudai whispered, as if tasting the name in his mouth. "Hey, it kinda sounds like Asu-"

"It should." Shou nodded. "Asuka found out what I was doing pretty much before I could tell anyone and…. Well, she was so supportive right from the start. She was even the one who brought out the idea of hiring a surrogate after she saw how I had no luck with the adoption agencies."

Juudai blinked, and then smiled, knowing Shou wasn't alone in his journey to fatherhood was a relief.

To tell the truth, the idea of Shou going through this alone scared him quite a bit.

"Anyways!" Shou's gaze lowered to the baby sitting on his lap, she was nomming a piece of her dad's shirt without a care in the world. "This little spitfire right here is named Ryoko."

Juudai couldn't help but to snicker.

"Was your brother okay with that name?"

Shou smirked.

"Well…. He made a comment about how I was doing the whole "matching names" thing our parents did to us and hoped I wouldn't notice how he started to tear up a little." He whispered with a laugh, as if he were telling a secret. "But other than that, I'm pretty sure he was fine."

Juudai giggled, he couldn't help but to imagine the scene Shou just described.

The mental image of former Hell Kaiser Ryou trying to not cry after learning that his niece got named after him was kind of cute.

He…. He kind of wished he could have been there to see it.

To be there at Shou's side, trying to hide his laughter as his friend drops that surprise on his brother….

It would have been nice.

Juudai looked at him, then blinked as he noticed how Shou was suddenly quiet while staring at the last baby.

He looked at her, she was holding tight onto a toy as it slept.

The toy seemed to be a gyroid plush and Juudai found that adorable.

"And…. What's her name?" Before he realized it, he had already asked the question.

He noticed Shou took a deep breath.

Was there something wrong with this kid's name?

Did he wanted him to guess it?

Or like… Who did he name this one after?

Because in that case Juudai wasn't sure of what to guess.

…. Maybe Fubuki asked him to…. No, Shou would probably just let him down slowly. He knows they get along but that was too big of a deal.

…. Maybe he named her after Manjoume? Just to see how he would react.

...

Nah.

Shou might have thought of that joke but acting on it was something else.

Mmm…. He does remember Shou telling him that he and Johan actually became quite close a couple of years ago….

…. Well, who knows? Maybe he suggested to name this baby after a crystal or a bug!

"He's…. A boy, actually."

Juudai blinked.

"…. Huh?"

Shou looked at Juudai and blushed once again.

"This is my son." He said, completely bashful. "And…. His name is Yukio."

Juudai froze.

Yukio….

Did he just….

Did Shou really-

"I-I…. I'm sorry I didn't asked for permission." He heard Shou said, but he didn't look at him.

Juudai didn't know what to say.

He wasn't mad! Far from it! It was…. It was a great honor! He is happy!

It was just…. Unexpected.

The other names, he gets it.

He knows Shou and Asuka had gotten used to being technically family now. Fubuki's reasoning on why those two are siblings is weird in a classic Fubuki fashion, but since Asuka's brother is now Shou's brother-in-law, they decided to be there for each other as if they were actual blood relatives.

He also knows that after years of working as a team and living together, Shou is as close to Ryou as he can be. It was hard to patch such a messy relationship, but they figured it out! It was a surprise when he started hearing Shou call his brother by his actual name whenever they talked on the phone. Heck, he can still remember how the shock brushed off his sleepiness that one time Shou called way pass midnight screaming "You won't believe what the fuck Ryou just tried to pull on me today!"

So yeah, he understands why Shou would name his kids after them…. But him….

Yeah, he knew he was important to Shou, and their friendship was so precious to him but…

Are they even that close nowadays?

The last time they saw each other was years ago, the last time they texted…. It was almost a year ago.

Juudai would never want to even think about losing Shou, it just…. Life got in the way.

And that is why he's here, to change that….

"Are…. Are you okay with it?" Again, he heard Shou's voice. It sounded a bit meek, almost fearful.

Juudai felt guilt.

He wasn't sure if it was guilt for making Shou uncomfortable or for not being there for him in order to be deserving of such an honor…. But the guilt was still there.

"It's a cute name." He mumbled in response, clearing his throat when he heard his own voice break for a second.

"Yeah…."

"Um…. I…. I'm sorry." Juudai looked back up and was met with a look of confusion.

"Huh?"

"For…. You know…. Not being there."

Shou's expression changed, it became a bit down.

"That… Would have been a bit hard with me trying to hide it from everyone."

"What?"

"Yeah." Shou sighs. "Look, I'm sorry. I was just…. I was scared of having to hear more people say stuff like "You don't know what you want." Or "Just wait, I'm sure you'll find a wife in no time!" Ugh! I-"

Shou looked down, Ryoko had stop chewing on his shirt and was currently pulling a streak of his hair. Instead of complaining about any pain, the young duelist just breathed out a laugh and picked her up to kiss the top of her head.

Juudai smiled, that was adorable.

"I just couldn't take any of that anymore." Shou mumbled while he started cradling the baby in his arms and let her lean her head on the crook of his neck.

"Must have been a pain." Juudai nodded.

"Yup."

Juudai sighed.

"Still, I-"

"Meow"

Both men blinked.

"What was that?" Shou asked.

Juudai looked behind him.

And tadaaaa!

First chapter done!

Okay so….this took me a while BUT it kinda reminded me why I liked to write in the first time…Who knows! Maybe I'm not a lost cause after all!

I hope you enjoyed this story, I promise the point of this AU is fluff but sometimes you need to get the awkwardness out of the way!

Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think!