Chapter Nineteen:
Yugi looked down at his phone. It was vibrating on silent from Seto calling. It was the fourth time in about twenty minutes, and Yugi just watched it go to voicemail. When it did, he glanced up and saw Yami watching him across the table. It was just the two of them at the moment, just sitting down to a dinner because Joey was running late.
Yami said nothing, just held out a bowl of rice. Yugi took it, and couldn't stop himself from responding anyway.
"You know, he's in Paris. He probably thinks dinnertime is over, you know, it being so late. I'll just speak to him later tonight."
Yami still said nothing, merely served himself some noodles. Yugi knew he knew that defense was an outright deflection. Sure, Seto wouldn't know they were having a very late dinner, but that was no reason Yugi couldn't answer the phone.
Feeling guilty, Yugi picked up his phone and texted Seto quickly, then set his phone down again. He looked at his plate and wondered if he was being unreasonable to Seto. Sure, Yugi thought he had a pretty good idea of his reaction, but he really didn't know. This was uncharted territory. And it wasn't as if Seto would know just by hearing his voice or even seeing his face over Skype.
But Yugi just felt guiltier than ever the closer it got to Seto coming home. Not just nervous, guilty. He should have told him before now. The minute he knew for sure he wasn't just crazy.
Joey finally arrived about five minutes later. He was grumbling about traffic, then perked up seeing Yugi.
"Hiya, Yug'." He greeted Yami with a kiss, then wandered over to the sink to wash his hands. "How ya feeling?"
"Fine."
"Yeah?" Joey joined them at the table. "Ah, thanks," he added as Yami held out the noodles. He'd undoubtedly eaten at the party, but that wouldn't stop him from eating some more. "So, what's up?"
Yugi hesitantly picked up the ultrasound from beside his plate and held it out. Joey took it and turned it around, then read the inscription. His mouth dropped open.
"A girl? You're having a girl?"
Yugi nodded.
Joey grinned and then whooped so loud it echoed through the kitchen. "That's great!" He jumped up and hugged Yugi. "So, she's healthy? Everything's going fine?"
"So far. Anna said she'd kind of small, but, well, she is my daughter."
Joey rolled his eyes and settled back in his seat. He gave the ultrasound back. "This is amazing, Yug'."
"I know." Yugi smiled brightly. He then told Joey about the rest of the visit. Joey's expression darkened, but he didn't argue against Kuribayashi's assessment.
"Yeah, I guess that's prob the best way you're gonna pull this off and keep it a secret."
The rest of dinner passed by with idle small talk. Yugi had a feeling that Joey had some questions, but was choosing not to ask.
After dinner, they went into the living room. Yugi noted that Joey was moving a little stiffly, almost limping, and he was concerned.
"Joey, what happened to your leg?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing much, slipped coming out of the shower. It's fine, just a little bruised. Don't worry about it, Yug'."
Yami had said he'd slipped himself and that was why he had a split lip. For a second, Yugi was confused, looking over at Yami who looked back at him steadily. Then the pieces clicked into place for Yugi and he blushed furiously. He quickly turned on their TV, flipping to a movie marathon channel.
Joey and Yami seemed to get into the current movie, but Yugi was distracted. He kept glancing at the phone resting on the armrest, and finally he picked it up, seeing a message from Seto.
**Why are you not answering?**
Yugi hit reply and typed back. **I did reply. I told you, I was eating dinner with Yami and Joey. It was late because Joey had a work party. Now we're watching a movie. Shouldn't you be getting ready for the Expo tomorrow?**
**I don't need to prepare for a Game Expo. How are you feeling?**
Yugi smiled a little at the phone as he replied. **Fine. I keep telling you, I'm fine, Seto. You'll see on Sunday that I'm not lying. Je vais bien. See? I said I'd find out how to say it in French.J**
There was no reply. Yugi watched the phone for several minutes, but nothing. Had he pissed Seto off? Maybe Seto had gotten a late lunch, just like they had a late dinner. It was around two in the afternoon there. Or maybe one of his staff that had accompanied him on this promotion tour had had a question.
Yugi set the phone down on the armrest and looked up. Yami was watching him. Joey seemed oblivious, but Yami wasn't.
/It's nothing,/ Yugi said. /Really, Yami. Stop staring at me./
Yami turned his face back to the TV. Yugi shifted in the armchair.
/I'm sorry./
/It's okay, Aibou. This is a stressful time and I shouldn't pry. I am sorry./
Yugi sighed and rested his forehead in one hand, still looking down at the silent cell. /I don't want to tell Seto over the phone, so every time he asks me if I'm okay and I say yes, he thinks I'm lying./
/I'm not surprised, Yugi. You were just overcoming what seemed like the beginning of an alarming illness when he left and now you are suddenly feeling better without explanation. He's worried./
Yugi smiled a little without lifting his head. /He is./
/He will be home on Sunday, right? How do you want to tell him?/
/I don't know,/ Yugi admitted. /You can't really see it because of my sweater, but I look like I ate a whole cantaloupe or something now. I'll have to tell him immediately. But I just don't know how./
/Kaiba likes forthrightness,/ Yami said. /I suppose…just tell him. Hold the ultrasound out to him and tell him./
Yugi nodded without lifting his head. He was idly playing with the phone on the armrest with his free hand, waiting for the screen to light up with a new message, but there was nothing. What was Seto doing?
The next day, Yugi decided to move back to the Kaiba Manor in preparation for Seto's return on Sunday. The previous night, Seto hadn't responded until almost an hour later, when Yugi was already home at the Kame Game Shop. All he had said was that he would see Yugi soon and to have a good night. So, he was still sure Yugi was lying to him and mad about it.
He was about to get madder.
Mokuba greeted Yugi a little awkwardly when he arrived. He hadn't ever actually said he was sorry for his nastiness, nor did Yugi really expect him to apologize. For one thing, Mokuba was becoming more like his beloved big brother the older he got, even if neither of them could see it. For another, he was still a moody teenager, and a few weeks hadn't changed that. Probably he thought Yugi was being too sensitive or he was ashamed of himself and didn't want to admit it. Yugi wasn't interested in finding out. And he forgave Mokuba anyway.
"So…you're doing okay?" Mokuba asked, openly staring at Yugi as they settled down to lunch.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"So, Dr. Kuribayashi never found out what was wrong?" He sounded surprised.
Yugi hesitated, then said, "We have a pretty good idea."
Mokuba frowned and said, "You don't want to tell me?"
"It's…It's not life-threatening. I kind of want to talk to Seto first. How was school?"
Topic changed to something that directly affected him, Mokuba glared at the floor. "Seto wants me to hire a tutor."
"It might be a good idea. I always hated math. I almost failed it."
Mokuba looked up. "You did?"
"Yes."
"But you were valedictorian!"
Yugi laughed. "Only because Seto graduated early. And because Mom made me work my butt off senior year. Really, I don't even know why I was picked. Maybe because I was sort of famous. But I know I would have had a tutor if we could have afforded it. You should get one, Mokuba. There's nothing wrong with it. Everyone has their own strengths, you know that."
Mokuba didn't respond. Deciding not to push it, Yugi changed the subject to Mokuba's favorite subject, art. He asked Mokuba to show him his latest homework project and, somewhat bashfully, Mokuba brought him a bust portrait of beautiful woman with brown hair and blue eyes. The picture was almost lifelike.
"Wow, this is amazing. You should show Seto when he gets home."
Mokuba looked down at the dining room table. "No, I'm not going to."
"What? Why not? Seto thinks you're really good at art, that's why he made you the Creative Director for Kaiba Corp in addition to Vice President."
"It's Mom."
Shocked, Yugi looked back at the drawing. "This is your mother?"
Mokuba nodded, still looking at the table. "Don't tell Seto. A few weeks ago, I used some of Kaiba Corp's research resources to learn more about our parents. It's…It's been ten years this year that we went to the orphanage. I don't remember them, either of them. And Seto won't talk about them. Anyway, Yamato found this. It's Mom's graduation portrait."
Mokuba reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and held out a snapshot. It was a credit card-sized copy of a photograph of the young woman Mokuba had drawn. She was wearing a traditional black hakama with sakura flowers over a sakura-pink kimono, her hair done up with more sakura-shaped decorations. She was even standing beneath a blossoming sakura tree. Seto had inherited her coloring and her stunning looks. A small logo on the bottom left corner indicated the photo had been done by some studio, which was probably where Yamato had obtained a copy from.
"She's beautiful," Yugi said.
Mokuba smiled faintly. He took the snapshot back and put it back in his wallet. "Don't tell Seto about it. You know how he is."
Yes, Yugi knew exactly how Seto was.
He promised.
tbc...
