Chapter Twenty-Three:

As expected, Seto was cold to Yugi the rest of the night. Well, Yugi didn't care. They weren't on good terms to begin with right now and although Yugi felt much better and less moody than he had even three weeks ago, he knew he was still not the same as normal with all the hormones ramping up.

Still, though he probably wouldn't have had the ability to tell Seto off under normal circumstances, intellectually, he knew Seto needed it. The older Kaiba brother was a good man at heart, and he loved Mokuba, but he could be arrogant and dismissive of others' feelings at the best of times, and getting put a step back was necessary.

In bed, Yugi muttered a good night, and lay on his side with his back to Seto. There was a tense silence, but then the light flicked off.

Yugi stared through the gloom at the wall as his eyes adjusted, trying to keep his emotions under control. He had never expected this to be easy. Even normal relationships had their ups and downs. But it still hurt.

Behind him, Seto was lying in silence as well. Yugi wondered what was going through his mind. There were times when he wished he was linked to him the same way he was forever linked to Yami.

Yugi put his hand against his stomach. The feeling of the distension gave him some comfort and he drifted off.


That next day at breakfast, Yugi was waiting for another fight to start. Seto had disappeared after getting up before Yugi and he wasn't sure if he was going to come to breakfast at all, but he showed up about halfway through. From the look on Mokuba's face, he, too, was waiting for another scene.

Seto sat down and served himself in silence, without really looking at the other two. Yugi looked across the table at Mokuba, who looked back at him. They both then dropped their gazes. For several minutes, the silence dragged save for the clinking of dishes, and then Seto cleared his throat.

"Mokuba. I've been looking over the plans for Duel Links. We're not as ready for your part as I thought. Put it on hold and I'll tell you when to finish it up. In the meantime, find a tutor and concentrate on your homework."

It wasn't exactly an apology from last night, and was probably a downright lie, but it worked. Mokuba smiled and tucked back into his breakfast with more enthusiasm.

Yugi looked up at Seto, but the brunette did not return his gaze.

Yugi looked back down at his plate.

After breakfast, Yugi left the manor. He was glad for Mokuba, but mad at Seto's childishness. If he wanted to give Yugi the cold shoulder, Yugi could return the favor.

He debated where to go. He could head over to see Yami, but ultimately he decided to head to a nearby park for some fresh air. Air that was getting chilly, but not so much as to keep many people indoors. It was a beautiful autumn day, the middle of October. Yugi hadn't had much fresh air in days and he was glad to walk leisurely along the path, bypassing couples and families, watching other people enjoying the day. As it was a Sunday morning, there were quite a few people out, the hum of their conversation, punctuated with laughter and playful shouts, washing over Yugi with the soft breeze.

Climbing up a flight of wide stone steps beneath a trailing wisteria tree, devoid of blooms, Yugi felt a burning start in his chest. Frowning, he walked over to a bench and sat down, massaging along his breastbone, and then down against his right ribs. His mouth had been tasting sour most of the morning, but it seemed to be enhanced now. He also felt a little short of breath and his legs felt more tired than they should have after the mild walk.

Well, that's what was going to happen when he gained weight at the same time he wasn't exercising much. He'd need to ask Kuribayashi or Anna more how much activity he should be doing. He knew exercise was still important while pregnant, but he was also high-risk. Still, he'd better start walking more often if this was going to be the result.

His breath came back fairly easily, but the burning didn't die down. He sat beside a shishi-odoshi, listening to the rhythmic clack of the bamboo tube hitting the stone, still rubbing his chest. Below, a couple passed by, the mother pushing a stroller with a baby in it, while the father held the hand of a girl about four years old. The mother and father were talking, smiling and laughing, while the little girl held a balloon and the baby in the stroller appeared to be asleep.

Yugi sighed and closed his eyes. He let his head fall back against the backrest of the bench and let his hands drop into his lap. For several minutes, he listened to the clack of the bamboo, trying hard not to start crying.

He was being ridiculous. But the sudden sight of a happy young family made him feel very emotional.

He and Seto would never be that way. Although Seto could be very sweet at times, he was still Seto. Gone all day at work, easily annoyed, often distant. Just look at how he was reacting now. Insisting he knew what was happening with the pregnancy, then fucking pouting because Yugi had sided with Mokuba about the latest little tiff.

Joey was right, what the hell had Yugi been thinking falling in love with such an ass?

Yugi raised his head with a gasp. Instantly, shame rolled over him. How could he have thought about Seto that way? He put his face in his hands, mentally apologizing to Seto for letting his temper get the best of him.

Shaking his head, he stood up, then trembled as a faint wave of dizziness washed over him. That was it; he was going to be exercising more just as soon as he got direction from Kuribayashi. Putting his hand on his bump, he rubbed it soothingly, pleased that at least his heartburn had gone away. Then he started back down the stairs and along the path.

Once back at his car, he headed to the Game Shop. He would visit for a while.

At the Shop, he carefully looked down at himself to make sure his sweater was bulky enough to hide his bump. He just wasn't ready yet to tell his family.

Inside, his mother greeted him and offered him some tea and wagashi cakes. Remembering what he'd been told about caffeine, and having had a little coffee with breakfast, Yugi asked for orange juice. His mother looked a little surprised, but didn't say anything when she got him a cup.

"How's Grandpa doing?" Yugi asked when they had settled at the table.

"Good today. He's gone out to lunch with some of his old Egyptology buddies. He wanted me to tell you that tomorrow there's an extra large shipment of those comic books. He needs your help because they're going to be heavy."

Yugi nodded, while wondering if he could get Yami to help. His baby books had recommended not lifting over twenty-five pounds if the mother could help it and considering he was high risk, he was sure Kuribayashi would recommend even less strain.

They chatted for a while, then Yugi had a small lunch and said goodbye. Grandpa hadn't returned yet and Mrs. Moto had plans to see a movie with a couple of friends. Alone again, Yugi decided to head to the mall. He'd spend the day out, leave Seto alone, then go back and see how things were.

As it happened, he ran into Ryou. He'd been merely wandering around, when he'd come up on a rare shop to find-a import shop of British and American delicacies. It looked brand-new, and there was a surprisingly large crowd of young women giggling and chattering inside. He peeked in in curiosity both for the novelty and the crowd, and saw Ryou about in the center of the group of a dozen or so teenage girls, holding up a box of something and looking distinctly flustered. Behind him, behind the counter, a middle-aged man was peering at the group of girls with a delighted look.

Yugi headed inside and finally was close enough to hear that Ryou was recommending a brand of what sounded like bakewell tarts. He was going over the varieties, and the girls were giggling. Yugi suspected they liked the way he said tart, which was definitely not a Japanese word. Peering at the closest shelf, he saw things with packaging all written in English, with Japanese tags. This shelf, not far from where Ryou was surrounded, was all candies and chocolates and little prepackaged snake cakes, more tarts included. Yugi wondered how well the shop would do. Western desserts could be cloyingly sweet.

"Yugi!"

Yugi looked up. Ryou made his way over to him, apologizing repeatedly to the young women who clearly didn't want him to go. He sighed heavily when he'd finally left them and come up to Yugi.

"Having fun?" Yugi asked with a smile.

Ryou tried to return the smile. "At this point, they should hire me."

Yugi laughed. Poor Ryou would never be free of his fan club. "I was just wandering around. Want to use me as an excuse to leave?"

"Yes, please!"

Ryou looked much relieved to join Yugi and escape the mob in the import store. Many of the disappointed girls quickly left as well, but the shop owner was not without a sale as a glance back saw several of the girls buying up the tarts Ryou had recommended.

"So, how close are those things to stuff from back in England?" Yugi asked curiously.

"Oh, exact. They're direct imports, and quite the sort of stuff I remember. I might go back, er, later, and get a few things. Nostalgia, you know. Of course, I'm quite happy with Japanese treats!"

Yugi smiled. Ryou could sometimes be over polite, not wanting to cause offense to anyone. Which was why he had such a hard time detaching himself from his fans.

Walking around the mall proved to be less strenuous to him than the stairs and hill at the park, but soon enough Yugi had to sit again. A glance at one of the clocks showed it was after three. He suggested to Ryou they get some ice cream while making another mental note to himself to call Dr. Kuribayashi first thing on Monday. It was only going to get worse the bigger he got and he needed to know a good way to combat the fatigue.

He had an enjoyable afternoon with Ryou, a better end to a day that had not started well.


On Monday, he headed down to the Game Shop early. It was only half past noon, but he would visit with Grandpa some since he hadn't gotten to see him the day before. Yami had come over that morning to move the boxes for them, Yugi hating himself for making up some fake excuse.

"Ah, hello, Yugi," Grandpa said when he came down the stairs and out of the storeroom.

"Hi, Grandpa. How are you today?"

"Doing fine," Grandpa said a trifle grumpily. He didn't like being solicited that he was getting old. "Been slow all day again."

"That's what Mom said. But don't worry, it'll pick up again for Christmas."

Grandpa huffed, then smiled, waving Yugi over. "Come look at this and tell me what you think." He held out a retailer's magazine. "See those action figures? I'm thinking of ordering them for the shop. Remind me of those Monster Fighters that were so popular when you just started high school."

Yugi smiled and nodded. The game had been very popular for a while, before Duel Monsters had taken everything by storm. Looking at the ad for the action figures, he saw that there were small, but pretty advanced. Around six inches high, they had articulated limbs and jaws, swappable armor pieces, and LED lights in the eyes and on jewels and other parts. Yugi thought they might sell well and said so.

At two, Yugi took over and Grandpa headed upstairs to have his own lunch. There hadn't been a single customer in all that time, and Yugi didn't expect many that night.

Getting out his phone, he decided to look up tutors for Domino High students. He'd call tomorrow before coming over to the shop and try to find someone for Mokuba. He didn't exactly trust the teenager to be putting too much effort in, even after being let off by Seto about Duel Links. Mokuba would undoubtedly be much more interested in hanging out with his friends more with his newfound freedom and Yugi couldn't really blame him for that.

A few results looked promising. Writing down the agencies and their phone numbers on a pad Grandpa kept next to the register, he tucked the note into his pocket. Glancing at the clock, he sighed. Only three o'clock. It was going to be a long day.

And it was, but around six-thirty, not long after opening back up after dinner, finally there was a customer. One of Yugi's favorite kinds, a grandmother looking for gifts for her grandkids. Yugi loved helping them pick out something, asking questions about what their grandkids liked and giving suggestions. He was good at it, a talent he'd inherited from Grandpa, although Grandpa tended to flirt at the same time.

The selection took most of the rest of the shift. She had two grandkids with birthdays coming up that next week and Yugi about wore out because she was unusually picky and indecisive. Finally, she followed Yugi to the counter with a couple gifts for each grandkid. Yugi rang her up and gave her some gift bags and tissue paper.

"No one does gift wrap anymore," she muttered as she tottered to the door.

Yugi sighed and slumped into the chair behind the counter. He was exhausted. Thankfully, it was ten until close time.

Which meant going home to Seto. Which was not the happy thing it once had been.

tbc...

A/N: Reviews are always appreciated.