Aside from the obvious, I'm writing this story to learn. This is to say that, outside of the fact that it's fun to turn canon on its head and see where a fundamental shift might take us, I'm also trying to learn about the people involved.

I've never been much of a Téa/Anzu fan. This story seeks to fix that problem, because most of the time I end up not liking a character, it's because I don't "get" them. What better way to learn about someone than by working with them?

I'm also writing to learn about Pegasus. I've worked with him more extensively than I have with Téa, but I've never really given him free reign to do what he pleases. I've never placed him in a position of power. Here, he most certainly is.

I've written the Kaibas longer than I've written any other character, and this lends toward me thinking that I know everything there is to know about them. By tossing my favorite fictional siblings into a situation I've never even thought about before, I get to learn something new about them. After so many years, that's exciting.

And, lastly, this is the first story of my new Acknowledge Yugi's Mom movement. She has exactly one speaking line in the original Japanese anime (I believe), and other than that she basically doesn't exist.

I intend to fix that.

1.

"Most of the kids here don't like it when Mokie's around."

Téa is sitting on her heels, staring up at Seto like he's said something blasphemous. "What are you talking about?" She turns her attention back to the bouncy little toddler and grins fit to burst. "He's just the sweetest little thing! Isn't he? Isn't he?" She tickles him, and Mokuba decides that the proper response to such an act is to hug her; which, in Mokuba's mind, means tackling her to the ground.

Seto smiles sagely, and Pegasus Crawford isn't the only one to realize what that smile means.

"You've been looking after him for a long time, haven't you?" Missus Mutou asks. Seto glances at his new friend's mother, and looks confused. He nods, slowly, like he expects her to reprimand him. Like he expects to defend himself. But Missus Mutou just smiles. "Good. Good for you." Missus Mutou looks down at her son; Yugi looks back up at her, obliviously. "Boys need a strong male influence."

"He calls Seto 'Niisama,'" Katherine puts in. "That word might mean 'big brother' in the dictionary, but that's not what he's saying."

Pegasus smirks. "He's saying 'Daddy.'"

Seto's face goes red. ". . . Could we stop talking about this, please?"

Katherine laughs. "Of course. Let's not embarrass the poor boy." She leafs through a sheaf of paper in her right hand before tucking it under her arm. "Mister Crawford, thank you. You were . . . quite thorough. Things should progress smoothly, if this is any indication of how you intend to go about this entire process."

Pegasus bows at the waist. "Of course. It would only do to put my best effort forward." He glances at his servant and winks. "After all, I am dedicating my life to the molding of another."

"Oh!" Missus Mutou looks surprised. "You're looking to adopt, Mister Crawford?"

"I am. It seems . . . unlikely that I will marry again. So a child of my own blood is likely enough out of the question." Pegasus waits a moment. Then he says, "Then again, what's the saying? 'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.' A family of my own choosing seems . . . a better fit than one I end up stuck with."

Yugi and Seto both stare at Pegasus Crawford. In one voice: "He said it right!" Then they look at each other. "You know it, too?!" Then they grin like fools, and something unbreakable is formed.

Kristine finds herself, yet again, marveling at Pegasus Crawford's ability to work magic on the elder Yagami boy with the most obscure, simplistic, random things.

Croquet is the only one who knows how, and he marvels at it, too.

Just not for the same reasons.

2.

Nights at the Domino Children's Home are a space of timeless tradition. Each of them have their own rituals. Some brush their teeth before taking a bath. Some brush their teeth while they take a shower. Some absolutely must have their beds in perfect order before they can sleep; some flop onto the mattress without the faintest regard for where the sheets or the pillows even are.

In order to save space (this is what Seto told himself when he made this decision), Seto and Mokuba Yagami share the same bed. That's their tradition. It won't work for much longer, and Seto knows that he will eventually have to force his brother to sleep in his own bed—he's heard of cultures which don't do this, where sharing a communal space to sleep is perfectly normal, but he doesn't belong to any of those cultures; their customs seem foreign to him—but for now it's okay. He's only three, after all.

And besides . . . part of Seto is extremely selfish. A part that's deep inside himself, buried beneath most of what he thinks is important about himself, that just likes having his family nearby. Whether it's to comfort himself after a series of tragic and not-so-tragic losses—he will never forgive his "godparents" as long as he lives—or because it simply makes him feel better that Mokuba absolutely refuses to go to sleep for anyone except him, he doesn't quite know. Probably it's both.

He knows that this second reason is toxic, and that he shouldn't pay any attention to it; he also knows that the first reason is dangerous. But usually, when the lights go off and it's time to coax his brother to sleep, Seto is too tired to think through all these things that most adults think he's too young to worry about.

He bets that Mister Crawford would understand. Maybe Missus Mutou would, too.

"Nii'tama?" Mokuba's voice is quiet.

"Hm?" Seto's voice is nearly inaudible. "What is it, Mokie?"

"I like friends."

Times like this, Mokuba's verbal tics are heartbreaking. Seto honestly doesn't know if there's a missing word in that sentence or not. Is he talking about Yugi and Téa, specifically? Is he talking about Seto's friends? Are they Seto's friends?

Or does he just assume that "friend" is a word you use to describe someone who isn't mean?

"Mm?" Seto allows a slight smile onto his own face; he's on his back, staring up at darkness. "They were nice to you, weren't they, little guy?"

"Uh-huh! They're nice. And play games."

"Do you remember your new friends' names, Mokie?"

"Um . . . um . . . yeah. Um . . ." He clearly doesn't.

"Yugi," Seto says slowly, "and Téa."

Mokuba repeats the names to himself. "Yugi boy," he points out. "Téa girl."

"That's right."

"Téa older," Mokuba says. "She's like you. Smart. 'Tects people. She's funny."

"Pro-tects," Seto says. "Yes. She does. Make sure to remember their names, Mokie. You don't want to mix them up if—when they come back."

"Yeah." Mokuba snuggles up against his brother's side; Seto wraps an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders.

"Go to sleep, Mokie."

"'Kay."

"Oi, Yagami!" Another voice injects itself into the silence. "Mighta noticed the lights're off! Mind shuttin' that brat up?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Seto replies stiffly. "It's not like he'd already stopped or something scandalous like that. But please. Keep talking. Wake him up. That'll make things easier for everyone. Jackass."

"The fuck you s—"

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Another voice. "Whittaker, shove it up your hole. Yagami, stop antagonizing him. It only makes him louder. Now everybody shut up and sleep."

3.

After leaving the orphanage, Natsumi Mutou drives Téa home first.

Eventually, Yugi says: "Seto's pretty neat, huh?"

"Seems like he doesn't have much experience around other kids," Natsumi says, more to herself than to her son. "Or adults. When did you meet him?"

"He's been in my class. He plays Magic & Wizards, too. Just like Grandpa! Ooh! Wait 'til he sees this!" Yugi fishes a card out of his pocket. It's a monster card from the game that seems to have taken over her father's life; Sugoroku insists that there are serious archaeological connections to this Magic & Wizards game, but Natsumi wonders if he isn't just making excuses for himself.

As if he can't simply admit that he runs a card shop because he likes cards.

The card Yugi is currently admiring is a Black Magician, with Pegasus Crawford's signature adorning the bottom right corner of its face. It's Yugi's favorite card. To have it signed by the inventor of the game—and the artist responsible for the character's likeness—is the sort of thing that will cement itself in Yugi's memory for a long, long time.

"You'll want to see about getting that card framed," Natsumi says. "Something to keep it safe."

Yugi is nodding. "Uh-huh. Yeah. But isn't it amazing? I mean, I didn't think Seto was lying when he said he dueled Pegasus Crawford, but still! He was there! Right there, on the lawn! And . . . and . . . !"

"I remember," Natsumi says. "I was there."

". . . Why do you think Seto kept talking about how you didn't have to take him home?" Yugi wonders suddenly. "He kept saying it, over and over."

"I'm sure he feels like he's all on his own," Natsumi says. "You know what it means, that he lives at the Children's Home. Don't you? His parents are gone. Dead." She isn't sure if she should be so . . . blunt about this. But Natsumi Mutou has never been one to sugar-coat; not even with her own son. Yugi looks suddenly devastated. "When something like that happens, people usually shut themselves up. They defend themselves by distancing themselves. He's probably not used to people doing favors for him."

"But . . . then . . . like, wouldn't that make it nice? To have someone do something nice for him?"

"On one level, yes. But look at how he was with his brother, Yugi. He's in charge of his family now. The 'man of the house.' That's how he thinks. That means it's his job to take care of things. But he's still a little boy. He doesn't have any money, or any way to repay favors. So he was probably embarrassed."

". . . Oh. So, since he doesn't have a way to pay you back for giving him a ride, or getting lunch, he didn't want you to do it. So he wouldn't have to pay you back."

"Exactly."

Yugi looks down at his card and frowns studiously. "It must be lonely," he says eventually. "And scary. I mean, there are lots of adults at that place, but . . . they're not his. Right? So . . . they don't count. I mean—! I'm sure they do a good job and all. But still."

Natsumi nods.

They ride the rest of the way to the Turtle Game Shop in absolute silence.