Lily: *bows down to everyone* I know that nothing can really console you guys for my absence the past two weeks. But I have reasons for being away for such a long time.

One is that, two weeks ago, I couldn't come near the computer. ALL WEEK. Difficult to believe? Well, it's the truth. On Monday, bro "fixed" my monitor (it doesn't go pink anymore, yay! ..... however it's blue now ¬¬). The rest of the week he made some changes in my room, and on Friday I had to clean my room. I seriously couldn't come near the computer.

Last week... Well, I was dying. Or something close to it. Actually, I got seriously sick and whenever I had time with the computer I had to leave it. I just got good enough to type something on Friday and Saturday, but then I wasn't in the mood to write my stories. Good, huh? -_-UU

But then, I used all my sparing week to update my stuff. And I'm sad to inform that on Monday.... SCHOOL STARTS!! *hugs the computer* Nu~~, I don't wanna go... *sighs* But it's either that or be as dumb and Jou and don't improve my writing skills.

Wish me luck, everyone. ^^U Now let's continue with this

-- Reviewers' replies --

*YumeTakato : You're very emotive, aren't you? ^^U Just wondering... And I'm glad you liked the chapter so much! Yeah, now that you mentioned it I remembered it too, lol. But someone won't take it quietly... *ahem* And so you think it's original? Thank you *bows* For your patience you're rewarded with a new chapter ^^

*LilTakariGirl aka Yami Aro : lol!! *big sweatdrop* *bows* Sorry about that! ^^UU Warn me next time you'll eat in front of the computer so I won't glomp and choke you to death, lol. ^^U Anyway... you're okay with incest? O_o Erm... I'm not, actually... You see, my story might insinuate so, but it has NOTHING to do with incest. In fact, in the future you guys might even forget they're brothers... Might I say. Taichi and Hikari for example is just.... wrong... @_@. And Hikari just must die... =P

Yugi&Ryou&Malik: O_O!!! ;_;

Lily: *sweatdrops* N-no!! Not you guys!! Hikari Yagami, Digimon... I luv you, hikaris pals ^^UU

Hikaris: Ok then ^^

Lily: *sweatdrops again* Anyway... lol! So you get sorry for Yugi and he calls you crazy, hyper authoress? That's just meanie =P Threaten him to cut his sugar next time he says that, ok? And here's the new chapter for you ^^

*Destiny : Stop with the theories, here's the new chapter ^_^ Hmm... and yes... we gotta see about the brotherly love... It may evolve into something more, since they're not brothers and all ^^ And here *gives her Evil Table of Doom* Help yourself with that fellows ^^

*Sansi : Thank you ^^ *hugs* Here's the new chapter for you. By the way... have I ever told you I really like your story "One of a kind"?

*hobbit13 : lol, I should have waited that comment. But it makes the story original, doesn't it? About what you said as in Yami and Yugi going far into their brotherly love... Hmm. I'll get to that point soon. Just keep reading ^^ lol, I hope it's a good "peculiar", huh?

Oh and "Fade to black"... I'm working on the 4th chapter. I mean it.

*Kurai Kaiba : ^^U Sorry!! *bows down* Here's the continuation, don't cry anymore. I'm very evil with cliffes I know... But don't cry! OH, and thank you for putting me on your fav authors list ^^

*Miami-chan : I hope it's just my cliffes that you hate... ^^U Please don't hate me. I know I'm evil, but please don't hate me... Anyway, here's the continuation. I promise no cliffy this time.

*TokyoGal90 : Thank you! But I'm afraid I didn't get your last sentence... O_o

*Mel Gods : Mel won't be confused anymore cause Lily stopped being evil and updated!! ^_^ *giggles* Yeah, the love thing won't be weird anymore... Actually, I'm thinking you guys are going to accept it much more as the chapters go on. I have things planned for this fic, many things... *ahem* Well, the fact is that I haven't exactly being working on the Portuguese stories for 2 years... I wrote them two years ago. They're all finished, all one shots...... But then again, I have a Digimon story on FF.net that's going on for two years... ah well... *gives her thumbs up* Good luck with your story!! ^^ And I'll be waiting for your reviews.

*Koishii no Tenshi : Gomen ne!! *bows* I shall not be cruel anymore. Here's the continuation you've been waiting for ^_^

*Donella : Hmm... is it a good okay or a bad okay? O_o

Now on with the chapter ^^

"__" means talking

'italic' means thinking

A Yami/Yugi shounen ai story (NO incest, mind you)

Disclaimer: I do not own it, don't dream fellow --;;

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Dark mates

Chapter III - Family Ties

By: Lily Maxwell

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"I'm... I'm not her son?!" Yugi asked, breathing heavily, the tears already forming in his eyes. Maybe he could have been a little rushed, maybe that wasn't what his parents had meant... But the way their words sounded.... It was difficult to be anything else.

But Yugi wasn't ready for this. Not now. Not like that. He shook his head in disbelief, and Yami, unable to do anything, only watched him with watered eyes. Yugi then sniffed and ran away.

"Yugi!" Yami called, but it was of no use. Yugi just kept running and then entered his room, closing the door shut. The sound of the key was heard, and Yami was sure that Yugi had locked himself in his room. He sighed deeply, and stood up straight, ready to follow him.

And it was then that he noticed that his parents had not stopped arguing, and had most likely not found out that they had been heard.

"If I lose Yugi... I... I will only be able to think about Yami... What if... What if someone takes him away from me too?? What if I lose both of them?!" Mrs. Muoto said in a loud and desperate voice, and Yami froze.

What... did she mean... what he just thought she meant?!

We're both not their sons? He thought, eyes widening. He didn't move, and his eyes lost their focus. He was unable to think anything else, and to do anything else. He could just think... of how betrayed he felt. And how... how lonely he seemed in that dark hallway.

His parents weren't his parents... His brother was not his brother...

In fact, neither of them was related in any way.

ANY way...

Yami shut his eyes tight, and held his breath. He felt such a rush of emotions, he didn't know what he was supposed to do next. Rush inside the room his parents were, cry with Yugi, or run away from that house and don't look back...

He opened his eyes and sighed heavily, deciding not to do either of them. Actually, he thought the only thing he could do at the moment was try to comfort Yugi. Because he knew exactly how he was feeling...

And with Yugi the thing was completely different. Because Yami wanted to scream and run... Yugi probably wanted to scream and cry. Their personalities, they were completely different.

They seemed the complete contrary of each other.

Yami chuckled sadly, noticing how lucky he was. He didn't know who his parents were, whom he was, where he was from... But at least he had someone to share his pain. Someone who understood him, and that would be at his side. Like always.

Maybe he was just meant to know Yugi like he did. It was fate.

He broke into a run towards Yugi's room, knowing exactly what he had to do. At the moment, his main task was try to comfort the shorter one. He needed it. And then...

Then he would try to find out what to do. Try to find out why they had been lied to all these years. Why they were never told the truth.

And where they belonged.

Yami stopped before Yugi's door and tried to open the door, but sighed as he found out that, as he had predicted, Yugi had locked the door. He stared at the wooden wall before him with sadness before knocking.

"Yugi... It's me... Open the door..." he said softly, but heard a cry from inside.

"Leave me alone!" he heard Yugi's muffled voice. "Please..."

"Yu-chan, please... Open the door, I want to help..." Yami said, hands touching the door with a supreme want to broke it down.

"Don't call me that." Yami heard sobs and his heart broke apart. He hated it when Yugi cried. It was just the opposite of his cheerful self... It seemed just wrong. "Go away... please, Yami, go away..."

Yami sighed, but didn't feel like going away. Instead, he sat down in front of Yugi's door and left the boy to cry his pain away, just listening to his sobs and painful cries. He knew exactly how he was feeling, because he felt all those emotions too. And the worst of all was confusion.

And so, sitting there, Yami cried too. There was nothing he could do, beside wish that his parents didn't walk in hat corridor that night. Through the many thoughts that rushed in his head, Yami just kept telling himself over and over again to calm down. And be strong for Yugi.

Yugi... What did his parents say?

"... It's his grandson!"

"But he's his only alive relative..."

Yugi... Yami widened his eyes, feeling his heart almost stop beating. His parents... They're probably... Dead... he figured, and shook his head.

Just why did things have to go like this?

He didn't know how many hours he and Yugi spent crying, one on each side of the door, but by the time Yami looked through the window, the moon was high in the sky. For a few minutes he looked through the window, his tears subsided, silence filling the environment around him.

And then he blinked, noticing something.

Yugi had stopped crying.

He looked at the door, and leaned his head against it. He just wished that Yugi would talk to him... Let him be with him... Hadn't they always done that? There were no better brothers than them, they were always together, they never fought. Did the simple fact that they didn't have the same blood rushing in their veins mean that everything was a lie?

Yami didn't think so. But it appeared to him that Yugi did. Maybe everything between them changed now. Yami didn't want that to happen, but the younger one had every right to be confused. To be afraid. To have doubts.

After all, when you live your life in a lie like that, you tend to have lots of doubts and questions. You saw everything and everyone with different eyes... And it was probably that that was happening to Yugi.

He closed his eyes, and sighed, letting the silence calm him down.

And then he heard it.

CLICK

Yami looked up just as, ever so slowly, the door to Yugi's room opened. Yami expected Yugi to be standing up there, and to tell him to go away, but... Yugi was sitting on the floor, and only widened his eyes at the sight of his "brother". The amethyst of his eyes was shiny with tears and the white was red. His cheeks were stained and wet.

"Did you..." he began, his voice very weak. "Stay here until now?" he asked, and Yami nodded. Yugi sniffed, and didn't look at his eyes. "Why?"

"Couldn't I?" Yami asked, reached out his hand and touching the other's shoulder.

"You don't have to... not anymore..." Yugi shut his eyes tight and silent tears fell down his cheeks. Yami clenched his fist, loathing the way the other was feeling. There was no comparison on their states, Yugi was much worse.

"I know how you feel..." Yami began, but Yugi looked at him with hard eyes.

"No you don't!" he said, hands closed in fists. Yami winced, and closed his eyes.

"They're not my parents either." He said, then looked away from Yugi's surprised eyes. "So I do... maybe not exactly how you're feeling, but I know how it feels... to know..." but Yami stopped when Yugi threw himself on him, crying openly.

"Why? Why did it have to be like this?" Yugi asked him, his shoulders shaking with each sob. Yami sighed.

"I don't know..." he said. "I don't know....." he slowly stood up, Yugi with him, and guided the other towards the bed. "You have to sleep Yugi..."

"How will I be able to?" he asked silently, and Yami sighed heavily.

"You have to try... I'll be here with you. Just try to sleep. Please." Yami said, and Yugi looked away, nodding. Both on their pj's, they climbed on the bed, and Yugi placed his head on Yami's head, as the older one leaned against the bed, the blanked over them.

"Things will never be the same again." Yugi said, and Yami closed his eyes. He wanted Yugi to be wrong... but he knew he wasn't.

end of chapter

Lily: Wah!! That was so sad!!!! ;_; I can't believe I actually wrote this stuff... Really, I'm ashamed of this chapter. I hope you guys think I'm good at sentiments problems, because if it depends on just my opinion... *sighs* Anyway, please don't forget to review or you guys won't see the next chapter. And I promise... there's much more to happen to these two =P