Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LATENESS! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! I STILL LOVE YOU ALL! HERE IS A NEW CHAPTER TO PROVE MY LOVE FOR MY READERS! AND IT'S REALLY LONG TOO! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!

Run Away Puppy 3: The Final War

Chapter Seven: Life's Little Surprises Part One

"Please don't do this to me, I have a baby." Hirutani snickered, "And I care about your test tube baby because…? Listen Joey, I pity you but I've always liked ya, I'm gonna let you go…for now…but make no mistake…I will be back… And when we do meet again…you're gonna hafta make a decision that will change your life forever…but whatever you choose…those around you will suffer." The blonde held tighter to his child and Jouneth peeked an eye up at the other teen and watched as he reached out to touch him. Thinking quickly, Katsuya jerked away, "I don't care what you have planned, but you will never, and I do mean NEVER, touch my son!" Hirutani pulled his hand away at this puppy's bark. This was a new behavior Joey demonstrated to him…and he liked it…it could be put to good use…

2:57 am A weary, young CEO walked stepped into the glory of his welcoming home. He let the briefcase that was nestled in his left hand fall to the floor. He exhaled and rubbed his sleepy blue-eyes. All seemed fine on the home front, all the lights were out and everyone was cradled comfortably in their blankets. The brunette smiled to himself as he thought about how jealous he was of his son…a soft laugh escaped his throat as he made his way up the stairs to his bedroom. Snuggling up with his beloved puppy in a nice warm bed sounded like the best thing in the world. Seto passed through the doorway and into his room; he went straight to his nightclothes drawer and changed quickly. He yawned heavily before climbing into bed, it was then that he realized…

"Pup?" He whispered while reaching to the side that Katsuya normally inhabited. There was nothing. Then, a noise from the downstairs caught his attention. Had he upset the blonde? Why wasn't he in bed at this ungodly hour? Seto went to investigate.

Amber eyes gazed solemnly at the glass of water sitting before him on the deck table. He was unable to sleep; his encounter with his old gang leader was disturbing. What was more…Hirutani wanted something from him and if he knew Hirutani…the deranged teenage boy would do anything to get his way…Katsuya shivered.

"Puppy?" Came the sudden noise, which caused the blonde to jump, hitting his knee on the table. Seto rushed to him. "Katsuya, what are you doing out here at this hour? In fact, why are you up, aren't you normally sound asleep?" Teary eyes met with curious azure and Seto watched as his fiancé threw himself into his arms and began to cry. He held tight to the shorter teen and comforted him.

"Shhhh, Katsuya. What's wrong, what's gotten you so shaken?" The blue-eyed teen asked while observing the slight quivering of his puppy's body. The blonde clung tighter to the brunette. "Pup…" Seto spoke softly while cupping his lover's face so that their eyes would meet, "…What's wrong? What happened?"

"H-h…Hirutani…"

"Hirutani? Puppy?" Seto asked rather lost at the random name.

"Puppy, Hirutani is in prison, you and I both know that." Katsuya shook his head, "No Seto…he's not. He…threatened me to-day…after you left the park." The amber-eyed teen said between sobs. "WHAT! How did he get out of prison?" The shorter of the two shook his head and buried his face in the young CEO's chest. "Seto…I'm scared…" The brunette wrapped his arms around his lover and held him tight, "Shhhh…it'll all be okay… Did you report this?"

"No…"

"Pup! Why? You should have gone down the police or even come back to Kaiba Corp.! You could have even called me! Why…why didn't you report this?" Seto listened as his shaken fiancé cried, " Because I was afraid for you and Jouneth…I know Hirutani…"

"Pup, Katsuya, we are going to report this, first thing tomorrow morning."

…

"So, how'd it go?"

"Your son's a puss now, no wonder Kaiba got him pregnant…though he does have a high sense of protection for his family. I thought he was gonna tear my arm off when I tried to touch his kid."

"Why would you want to touch that condemned creature, it shouldn't be, and it won't be…"

The blonde gang leader lent up against the nearest wall of his hang out and lit up a cigarette. He looked over at the woman while blowing out a puff of smoke, "I think I catch your drift but what exactly do you have in mind?"

"To simply kill the child and break up this immoral engagement…my son will think twice before opening his legs to another man again…I will make him feel god's wrath."

"Heh, are you another one of those people who believe they're here to do god's bidding?" Hirutani inquired while walking over to his old rival's mother. "HA! Thinks! I AM here to rid the world of all the devil's endeavors. My son and his son just happen to be part of that…"

"Well grandma, you seem to be speakin' my language." The woman glared at the teen, "Don't call me that, I am no one's grandmother, my daughter has yet to have a child of her own."

…

November 22, 2006

"Pup, do we really have to go to this thing? I mean, aren't we hosting the dinner tomorrow?" Seto half whined to his lover, who was currently dressing their son. "Set, this is a tradition, Yugi always has a Thanksgiving Eve Gathering." The brunette let out a strangled sigh and ran a hand through his hair. Lifting the infant into his arms after dressing him, Katsuya walked over to his lover and kissed him. "C'mon, it'll be fun. You liked last year's party."

"Yeah but this year I have a family…"

These words were enough to stop the amber-eyed parent in his tracks. He smiled softly at his fiancé and hugged Seto close. "I know you don't like to linger amongst others, but not only are we a family, but my friends are also my family, and ever since I gave birth to Jouneth you are part of that family as well." The taller of the two smiled weakly. "I know you feel like you miss a lot here at home when you're at work and I know you always want it just to be us…but family is about expansion, the more the merrier." Jouneth laughed out loud and broke the silence that had overcome his parents. The both of them laughed at the happy, ear-to-ear smile their son was wearing. "You are just too cute some times Jou." Seto said softly.

"Come on, we're gonna be late and Yugi is never gonna let us hear the end of it." The blonde said, knowing his best friend far too well. Seto shivered, "Yeah, you're right."

7:27 pm

The party was going pretty well so far; all of the invited guests had shown up except for the obvious couple. Yugi looked around to see that everyone was enjoying themselves and the company. The tri-hair colored teen eyed the phone sitting on the coffee table and wondered if maybe he should call Katsuya, just to make sure they were still coming. The duelist got up from his spot and walked over to the phone and just as he was about to dial a familiar cell phone number, a knock at the door came. Running to answer it, Yugi was thrilled to see who was standing there.

"KATSUYA! SETO!"

The guests of the party looked on as the tall brunette and his family pilled through the door. Mokuba made a mad dash behind Seto when he realized that Rebecca was present. For the last couple years, the girl was hanging all over the raven-haired Kaiba because her fight for Yugi's love had come to a sudden halt, after finding out that he was gay and loved Atemu. But she was a driven girl that never gave up…Mokuba hated that fact.

Yugi embraced the newly arrived guests and Malik and Marik were the first to approach them.

"Oh wow, look at this little guy." Marik said excitedly while approaching the Kaiba baby. Jouneth studied the platinum blonde with the up most caution. He didn't recognize this person at all, and Seto could feel it in the grip the baby had on the collar of his shirt.

"Jouneth, this is uncle Marik. He was here when you were born, but you probably don't remember him." Seto spoke softly to his six month old. The infant just gazed at the other man, taking him in. "Your daddy's right, I saw you when you were just a tiny baby, now you're all grown up." The lavender-eyed figure said to the Kaiba baby. Malik came and stood beside his lover and just looked at the child.

"Yeah, Marik is tryin to talk me into havin a rugrat of our own." The spiky-haired half of Marik spoke. "Well, why not? You'll like being a daddy Malik." Katsuya said while taking his son from the brunette. "Heh, yeah right." The blonde looked up to Marik just in time to see the hurt look flash across his face, Katsuya felt sorry for the Egyptian.

"Marik…?" Said person looked up at the sound of his name. "Do you wanna hold Jouneth, I dunno how long he'll let you but you're more than welcome." The amber-eyed teen watched as the eyes of Marik lit up, he smiled. Katsuya smiled back then introduced Jouneth to Marik once more before giving his son up to a new pair of arms.

"Well, hi there kiddo." Jouneth just gazed at Marik in wonder. A tiny hand reached up and touched the platinum blonde's face and explored. Finally Jouneth turned to his mother and smiled before nuzzling into Marik's body. The lavender-eyed teen felt his heart melt and fell in love with the Kaiba baby instantly. Needless to say, Seto felt that his fatherhood was at stake and was a tad jealous.

"Oh, this is peachy, now he's gonna get attached and wanna name it and take it home with us." Malik groaned. He really did hate the idea of having children. To him they were little monsters that needed to be kept out of the way. He couldn't understand why the ice king himself loved the little demon. Seto shot a death glare at Marik's former yami and Malik shot one right back.

"Set, behave." Katsuya said while frowning at the brunette. "That goes double for you Malik." Rang Marik's voice.

"Okay everyone, let's get seated dinner's ready." Came Solomon's voice from the dinning room (the game shop has a dinning room because I say). The guests all got themselves seated and Seto spoke before he thought, "I see you're watching your sister's kid again Tea, can she not take care of her?" Tea was caught off guard, "What…this isn't…I mean…yeah, she was busy today." The brunette winced at the sharp intrusion in his ribcage and Jouneth laughed aloud. "Seto! That was uncalled for." Katsuya's shocked voice hissed. The blue-eyed father looked over to his infant, "Traitor." The baby just smiled. And at the risk of another elbow, he apologized but now knew something the rest of them didn't know.

"I've missed you so much Mokie-Bear!" Rebecca squealed while hugging him close from the chair. The boy looked over to his brother's lover for help with pleading eyes. "So, Mokuba, do tell us about your girlfriend Nikki." Katsuya said, coming to the raven-haired Kaiba's rescue. What came next wasn't pretty. Rebecca accused the boy of cheating on her and kept ragging on him about whom she was and what this other girl had that she didn't. Atemu chuckled and sighed something that sounded like, 'Ah, young love.'

8:54 pm

Dinner passed with ease and now some friends were still seated around the table just reminiscing about old times and new times. Katsuya had noticed that Malik and Marik had been missing for a while since finishing their dinner but really didn't think anything of it until Marik came back to the table with a solemn look on his face. After waiting for Malik to join Bakura, who was playing Yugi's playstation 2, the blonde invited Marik out back to talk.

"So, Marik, what's up between you and Malik, there seems to be a lot of tension." Katsuya spoke while sitting down in one of the outdoor chairs. "Yeah, I guess there is."

"Wanna tell me what's up?" There was a silence before the Egyptian took a seat next to his friend and began to speak, "Well, as you noticed, Ishizu couldn't be here because she and Odion…just had their first baby together." Katsuya felt a smile grow across his face. "Really? Wow, that's great!" Marik nodded and sighed. "Ever since you gave birth to Jouneth I really started to seriously think about having children of my own, and after my niece's birth I knew that I wanted to create a life with Malik. I told him about it and he immediately shot the whole idea down." The amber-eyed parent cocked his head to the side, "Why would he deny such a beautiful thing to the world? Being a parent is so…rewarding."

"He hates children." Marik hissed bluntly. The blonde lost all his words; he was speechless. "Well, maybe that's not true, maybe he told you that he hates children to delay his becoming a parent. Malik maybe afraid of the idea of having kids of his own and isn't ready for even the slightest thought." Katsuya explained to his friend.

"Do you really think that's true?" There was hope in the Egyptian's voice. The shorter teen shook his head, "I dunno, I can't read minds but maybe all Malik needs is time."

"Hey guys, whaddya doing out here?" Came the sudden introduction of Yugi's perky voice. "Nada Yug' just talkin'. How is Seto doing with Jouneth?" The tri-hair colored teen perched himself on a chair and smiled, "Just as you would expect, World's Greatest Dad." The teen parent chuckled, "That's my Seto." The lavender-eyed Egyptian sighed, "You and Kaiba are so perfect together."

"Well, I dunno about perfect but damn near close. Don't get me wrong though, we do still argue, I mean we were sworn enemies once…old habits die-hard. When Set gets upset with me he still calls me 'mutt' and all that good stuff. And believe me, it still hurts." Marik nodded, understanding what his friend had said. "Well, there's that and then there's the make up sex. You tell me Seto's rather vicious during those sessions." Yugi said with a sly grin on his face. Marik laughed at the stunned look on Katsuya's face and the growing blush.

"Make up sex hu Katsuya? I take it that those are the times when Seto is at his best?" Marik inquired, very amused with what he had just learned. "Why would you say something like that?"

" 'Cause you're blushing really hard."

"NO! I like sleeping with Seto period, he's a sex god and you guys are just jealous!"

The three of them laughed together and sat outside talking for a while longer.

"Okay, hang on kiddo, daddy is gonna get you all changed." Seto said to his fussing infant as he made his way to one of the guest rooms to change his son's diaper. But what he over heard was quite the surprise…

"Mommy…how come I always hafta call you auntie Tea? I wanna call you mommy! And how come I can't call daddy Daddy?"

"Honey…it's…just…well…your daddy and I don't want anyone to know how foolish we were."

Seto could not believe what he was hearing. How could any parent be ashamed of their child? He and Katsuya weren't embarrassed and they're two men! He really had expected better of Tea…how could she be so cruel…not only to her daughter…. but also to her friends and her lover. "Just hold on a little longer, okay Tanya?"

"No! I WANNA CALL YOU MOMMY AND DADDY!" The little girl stomped her foot and began to cry. "Oh, c'mon sweetie, don't be like that, you know your mommy and I love you. We're just not ready for our friends to know about this yet." The young CEO couldn't believe whom he just heard, it shouldn't shock him as much as it did…but it did. Having heard enough to confirm his suspicions from dinner earlier he went to change Jouneth before he got caught eavesdropping, Katsuya would never let him hear the end of it.

Jouneth babbled to him as he dug through the diaper bag to fish out a clean diaper. Seto smiled down at his six-month-old infant as he listened to the story told in a language that only he and Katsuya could decipher. The boy kicked his legs and reached into the air while his father tended to him, in away Seto thought of it as away that the infant could show him physically what he was talking about. After securing the new diaper to his kiddo, he put the boy's pants back on and lifted him so that he was sitting straight up. The blonde child looked up to his daddy while cooing and reaching up for him, it really did seem like his son was wanting more attention from him, was it because he spent too much time at work? It didn't seem like he was working anymore than he was before Jouneth was born. Seto was grateful for the newfound attention, but he wondered why it was so sudden. He kissed his son on the head before a voice interrupted.

"Oh! Kaiba, I'm sorry I didn't know you were in here. Sorry to interrupt." The brunette turned around to see Malik getting ready to leave. "Wait!"

"Hmmm…? Whaddya want?" Were the words that escaped the platinum blonde's throat before bracing himself for the wrath of Kaiba, this was something he really didn't want to deal with. He turned only to jump a little, Kaiba was standing oddly close, "Here take him downstairs while I pack his stuff up." Malik was very confused as a baby was forced into his arms.

"Why? He's your kid. You're the one that signed your soul away to the devil, why should I hafta suffer?" The blue-eyed teen just turned his back and was doing as he had said, putting away all the diaper changing supplies. The spiky-haired Egyptian groaned and secured the child in his arms while making his way downstairs to hand the rugrat to its mother. All the way, Jouneth just stared at the man with wide blue-eyes and had a death grip on the front of his shirt. Malik frowned, "Oh stop it, I ain't all that bad!" The words startled the child and he started to wail. Jouneth began to push away and struggle.

Katsuya stopped mid-sentence to listen to the commotion that was happening inside and after a brief moment he hopped his chair and blew through the back door, he knew that was his son's wail. The blonde parent stopped ten feet from the scene. Malik stood horrified in the middle of the living room holding a screaming Kaiba baby out arm's length away from him. Katsuya couldn't help but chuckle at the former yami's expense before relieving him. Jouneth was more than willing to go to his mother and burry his face in the shirt of his parent.

Marik was trying hard to suppress the laughter that was threatening to escape. That priceless, horrified look that graced his lover's face was just so foreign…that it was very comical. He came to his lover's aid and talked to him softly, trying to get him to relax.

"Pup, gotta talk to you over here." The brunette said while pulling the blonde into the secluded kitchen of the game shop. The amber-eyed teen's mind was wondering, Seto had never really truly acted like this before, pulling him away from the crowd to have a few choice words with him. That look in his fiancé's eyes was sorta disturbing.

"Seto…what's up?" The teen asked while trying to calm their son. "Don't you think that it's odd that Tea and Tristan always have that little girl with them?" Katsuya merely eyed his lover's strange behavior. "Pup, can you tell me why that little girl looks so much like them? It's the same reason Jouneth looks like us." It was then that the shorter of the two lost it.

"You don't seriously think that Tanya is Tea and Tristan's! They would have told us, besides she would've been born back in the summer after 8th grade! That's funny Set, what brought this about?" Seto's blank stare met his puppy's goofy grin. They stood there for a moment just exchanging those looks.

"I don't think, I know. If you don't believe me, ask them yourself." Katsuya frowned at Seto's seriousness, "Even if what you said were true, why are you so upset about it? She's not your kid."

"True that may be, but no child deserves ignorant parents. Tanya has been calling her mother and father auntie and uncle in front of us since she could speak. They don't want us to know how FOOLISH they were to have a baby together! If they're foolish, what does that make us Katsuya?" Said boy was silent as he pondered what had just been spoken to him.

"I think it's time Tea and Tristan grew up." The tall brunette said while turning on his heel, the blonde knew his fiancé was a man on a mission; there was no stopping him. Katsuya watched from the doorway of the kitchen as Seto kneeled down to the brunette child and spoke to her. He watched as Tanya's eyes lit up then she ran happily over to Tea and hugged her before running over to the living room coffee table and standing upon it.

" 'SCUSE ME! EVERYONE!" She cried while waving her arms in the air. The amber-eyed parent eyed his lover as he came back to stand by him, "What did you say to her?"

"It's not what I said but what she has to say." The CEO stated before crossing his arms and getting ready to enjoy the show.

"Thank you all for the attention! I would like to say that my mommy's name is Tea and my daddy's name is Tristan!" Tanya cried with a happy grin on her face while she pointed out her parents. There was a group gasp and then there was a sharp shattering sound; Yugi had dropped his glass in disbelief. The revealed parents stood next to their 5-year-old daughter, embarrassed blushes growing across their faces. It was utter silence…. uncomfortable and unwanted… Jouneth, who had finally fallen to sleep, was stirred by the goings on and now his eyes were with the others. Ryou and Yugi stepped forward.

"Why didn't you guys tell us?" The tri-hair colored duelist asked, hurt by his friends' secrecy. Tea was in tears and Tristan was nervous. "There is nothing wrong with having a child, but deceiving your friends and putting a toddler through all this really isn't fair at all." Came Ryou's soft British voice.

"Yeah, you guys have nothin to be ashamed of, Seto and Katsuya have a kid together and they're both guys!" Duke said with a chuckle. The brown-eyed teen gritted his teeth and clinched his fists before snapping. "JUST SHUT THE HELL UP! DON'T YOU THINK THE BOTH OF US FEEL BAD ENOUGH FOR PUTTING OUR DAUGHTER THROUGH THIS? THE LAST THING WE NEED NOW IS A BUNCH OF ARROGANT FRIENDS!" The newly found out father picked up his daughter and stormed out the front door with an upset Tea close behind. They were gone with a slam of the front door.

"Seto…" Katsuya whispered with his back turned to his fiancé. "What?" The other teen shot back defensively. The blonde shook his head and walked away, Jouneth looking over his shoulder at his father. The brunette sighed and only began to panic when he heard the puppy leave. He made a mad dash out the front door but was too late, he watched as the rear break lights drove away. Pinching the bridge of his nose the blue-eyed figure calmed his breathing before re-entering the Game Shop. It wasn't hard to see that something was wrong, you could see it in the way that Kaiba held his posture. The group watched as he walked out back to make a phone call. They were all very confused. Malik, Bakura, and Duke raced to the kitchen to open the window over the sink to eavesdrop on the CEO.

While steering the Yukon, Katsuya reached down into the console and answered his ringing cell phone. "Care to fuck up anyone else's night?"

"What the hell pup?"

"Oh don't sound so innocent Mr. I-Know-Everything. You really fucked up this time. What you did was uncalled for. You of all people should have known better." The blonde said very annoyed with his lover.

"I should have known better! No Katsuya, they should have known better! That little girl was so upset with her parents!"

"DON'T SETO! How Tristan and Tea live their lives is their business and you had no right to stick your nose in it. They don't ever tell you how to raise your son do they?"

"NO! BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO! FOR RA'S SAKE THEY CAN'T EVEN RAISE THEIR OWN DAUGHTER RIGHT! ALL I DID WAS PUSH THE TRUTH OUT! SO THAT IT WOULDN'T HURT ANYONE ANY MORE!"

The amber-eyed teen was really upset with Seto, that he laughed angrily, "Kaiba, don't worry about other peoples' families, you have your own to care for and if you keep this shit up you're not gonna have one!" With that, the angry Katsuya hung up the phone, ending the conversation.

Those words hit him hard; 'don't worry about other peoples' families, you have your own to care for and if you keep this shit up you're not gonna have one!' Without even looking behind him he spoke to his eavesdroppers, "Show's over, there's nothing more to see here." Duke, Malik, and Bakura were soundless. They really needed to pick witch fights to listen in on. The three of them observed as the brunette got back on his phone and called for a limo. Instead of coming back inside to wait he made himself comfy on the porch of the Mutou residence.

Trying to get his breathing under control, Katsuya only then realized what he had said to his fiancé. He placed a hand over his mouth before threatening tears came flooding to his eyes. Why was he so stupid at times? Wanting to turn around and run to the arms of his loved one he kept on going on the track he had chosen. Seto wouldn't greet him with open arms anyway; he wouldn't if he were the brunette.

"Kaiba! Wait!" Just before getting into the awaiting limo, the brunette turned to see Atemu coming his way. "What do you want?" He asked softly but harshly. "Don't let this live the both of you. You can get through this if you talk to him. Whatever he said to you I'm sure he's willing to apologize."

"Heh, yeah, right." With that, the young CEO climbed into the car and slammed the door. The former pharaoh watched the vehicle drive away. "I know you know I'm right…Seth…"

…

"I can't believe this happened…" Tea sniffled into her tissue. She watched as her daughter slept soundly on the couch beside her and looked up to her boyfriend. "Tristan…you okay? You've been really quiet since we left." He was getting ready to speak when a knock at their front door came. The couple exchanged a glance and Tristan answered the beckon.

"Katsuya?" There before the brunette stood his best friend, in really bad shape. Tristan took his nephew into his arms and urged the shorter teen in. Tea ran over to the both of them to inquire what the matter was. The blonde lost his composure; "In my trying to defend you and Tea about how you raised your daughter I may have just broken any hope of keeping a steady life with Seto. I think the engagement is off…for real this time… I fucked up…"

Author's Note: Continued in Chapter 8.