Chapter 5-

Heba entered his bedroom as soon as he returned back to the mansion after school ended. A few hours ago, Yugi and Yami had informed everyone about the good news involving being pregnant. The entire group was ecstatic, giving their congratulations and a sneaky 'well done' to Yami for being successful in his department. At first, Yugi and Yami were planning to head home like usual and get some rest for the lengthy and eventful night, however, Bakura had other plans. He requested a celebration on behalf of the baby and didn't take 'no' for an answer. Everyone in the end agreed, knowing they had no other choice, but were secretly extremely excited.

Everyone was already downstairs setting everything up for the late event while Heba decided to enter his room so he could have a relaxing shower beforehand and change into a pair of casual clothes more fit for the occasion. He let the door slam shut behind himself, mindful of Yusei who scurried in after him who is now visible to the eye. He gathered a pair of stylish clothes out of his wardrobe, grateful they didn't need ironing and made a beeline straight for the bathroom.

"Wait here, I'll be ten minutes max."

Very well master.

Heba smiled and locked the door behind him knowing Yusei would probably rest on his bed and wait for his return. Thinking about it, he needs to give Yusei a bath soon.. Hopefully he isn't reluctant to enter water... Wiping everything from his mind, he let the warm water soothe and caress his back muscles, feeling them relax moments later. He leaned on the wall, his hands gliding through his moist hair and ridding himself off knots that had formed from the night wind. Over the last couple of years, he has grown attached to showers, finding them to be absolutely perfect when he's had a stressful day. He's not adverse to baths either because often than not, he'd find himself running a warm bath just for relaxation. Running his fingers gingerly along his body, soap grasped tightly in hand, he stood under the shower head and let the quickly forming bubbles dissipate due to the trickling water making contact on skin. He let a smile bloom, his body in bliss.

"HEBA?"

His cloud nine ended at the familiar voice that boomed elsewhere. He quickly set to work on switching the shower off, being sure the head wasn't dripping when he exited. He picked up the towel thrown carelessly on the floor and began ridding his hair of the water droplets that trailed down his back.

"HEBA? ARE YOU UP THERE?"

"Yes!" He called out, frantically working on drying his body and hair. Once successful he picked up his fresh clothes and placed them on expeditiously, his head turning to take note of the time. 6:12 am, not bad. Once he buttoned up his shirt and gave a small once over in the mirror, he made his departure out of the bathroom and entered his bedroom. "Hey Yusei, are you hungry?"

Said wolf padded towards his master, his head bent for a scratch I'm always hungry.

Heba smiled, reaching out to scratch the back of Yusei's ears "I'm a little hungry too.." He glanced out of his window and frowned. The timing in his opinion was still odd. Instead of it being night when school ends, it's morning. To say their time schedule is overly fucked up is an understatement. The problem that makes everything worse is feeding. When the sun gradually sets is when vampires venture in the night to search for a meal. Given the fact that school starts at twelve, he would need to wake up a few hours earlier instead of 10:30 pm. He could always wake up earlier or try his luck in the light around an enclosed area that would conceal him in the shadows. He unfortunately, couldn't stop the growing need to feast on blood, otherwise he'd stick with whatever his mum decided to do for the party.

With another glance out the window, he found himself biting his bottom lip in indignation. It's still early hours in the morning so there wouldn't be a lot of people about apart from those who work or go to school. Maybe he could risk it and find a meal otherwise he's going to feel strange and grouchy all day.

Would that be wise? Your absence wouldn't go unnoticed.

Heba glanced at his companion, his head nodding in silent agreement. He's right. Of course, his absence wouldn't go unnoticed, especially since his mother is persistent in calling his name from downstairs. Everyone is celebrating because of the soon to be new arrival to their family and yet he's upstair contemplating whether to sneak out or not. If he didn't show up, Yugi would go mental, not with just worry, but with anger and disappointment too. Yami had told him about what Yugi had been like when she was pregnant and angering her isn't a direction anyone would like to go. A wrath of a pregnant woman is like you were asking for a death wish, because with her, you'll surely be getting one.

"If I were quick-"

'Quick' is almost impossible.

With slumped shoulders and a breathy sigh, he gave a nod and exited his room, making a mental note to wake up at a reasonable time to hunt.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Ayyyy, about time!"

Heba turned around and took in the scene before him. With music blaring in the background, his mother was on her husband's shoulder with a pole held steady in one hand, her aim directed towards the ceiling where a pinata the shape of 'Kuriboh' hung loosely. Heba's sure he was upstairs for roughly twenty minutes and yet his parents had already started the party.. And since when did they have a pinata?

"Mum..?" He took a step forward, mindful of all the balloons layed out on the floor for whatever reason, he doesn't know. When Bakura mentioned a party, he had automatically thought he meant in a formal manner where everybody gathers inside the living room area, drinking, talking and snacking out. Bakura and Ryou were in the corner making out, Joey and Seto were at the snacking area, probably because Joey dragged him there. Marik and Malik decided it would be a great idea to pop every balloon that comes into sight, whereas, Jaden, Mana, Mokuba, and Serenity were camped out around the TV with the karaoke set on.

"Come join us kiddo.. Wait- WTF!" Yugi bawled her hands into a fist, her gaze snapping towards Bakura who, at her scream, jumped away from his boyfriend. Yugi felt rage build in her stomach, her bloody knuckles white. "BLOOD?" She jumped from her husband's shoulder who too was covered in blood and approached the albino, her eyes flashing with fury "I SAID SWEETS NOT BLOOD YOU BASTARD!"

"Put that pole down Yugi.." Bakura backed away, his hands in front of his face in case his friend attacked him. He knew he shouldn't have gone along with his idea, but he did anyway. Now he needs to pay the consequences and face his friends wrath.

"Put this pole down?" She tightened her grip on the metal, advancing ever so closely towards her 'victim' "What's the magic word baka?"

Bakura's eyes scanned around the room and fell on his friends faces who held their hands up in an 'I don't know' gesture. He turned back towards Yugi who seemed to be losing her patience with his lack of response. The magic word.. Magic word.. "Please?"

Yugi never moved a muscle while attempting to keep her face straight. "Wrong." She titled her head innocently "Tell me how amazing I am and I'll let you off the hook, literally."

Bakura's facial expression changed from confusion to shock when he realized his feet no longer touched the ground. He risked a glance up, eyes widening when he caught sight of a hook attached to the wall. His top began to raise due to his weight and the pressure from the hook, making his abdomen become exposed. He immediately flailed around in the air in hopes his shirt would tear and send him toppling to the ground, but his luck ran thin when his eyes fell on amused amethyst. "God damn Yugi! Let me the hell down!" He made an attempt to keep his voice steady, hoping to retain his secret about his phobia of hooks. No one knew apart from Ryou due to their shared mind link and he was adamant to keep it that way.

"Make me."

Yami held a hand to his forehead knowing that stepping in to save his friend was a bad idea. Though Yugi was only pretending to be angry and decided to get one back on Bakura for his little prank, stopping Yugi with her own 'prank' would only anger her. Hell, he should join in on the fun since Bakura not only pranked his wife, but him also. Instead of assisting his friend, he found himself glued to his wife's side, hand on the small of her back.

"Arghh, when I get down here I'm going to kick your ass!.. -Why are you laughing you freak?" He turned his glare towards Seto, his finger pointing towards the brunet who didn't bother hiding his own amusement. "Jackass, you're on my 'next to kill' list. And you-" He pointed to Yami "-Will be on there too if you don't tell your fucking psychotic wife to get me DOWN!"

And that did it for Yugi. She leaned her head on her husband's shoulder, her laughter never seizing and her shoulders uncontrollably shaking when she caught a slight flicker of fear surfacing in her friends eyes. It's such a bizarre emotion that's presented itself on Bakura's face that Yugi couldn't help but show her surprise. Her sudden outburst had everyone bewildered, but she didn't care. All she could do was curse in Egyptian because she was not able to capture the moment on a camera and instead has it only in her memory.

Bakura watched his friend in silence, his anger rising as the time ticks by at an agonizingly slow pace "This isn't funny you b-"

His insult ran short when his body suddenly made contact with a solid surface, his feet no longer hovering above the ground like they were moments ago. He found an arm reaching out for him and clasped onto the hand of the owner. He thanked his lover for the offered assistance, brushing imaginary dust and dirt off his clothes in an awkward manner once he was steady. He lost his composure and will later beat himself up about it when he's alone. What a fool he must have looked like.

"Sorry Bakura, I got carried away.." Yugi murmured, her laughter long ceased due to the forming guilt of mentally torturing her friend. He deserved it in more ways than many, but she sunk low especially since realization struck her when chancing a glance in Ryou's direction. The shorter male seemed tense while witnessing his lover being lifted off the ground by a hook. So the psycho has a major fear of hooks since heights were definitely not the problem.

Bakura didn't reply to her apology and instead mumbled incoherent sentences in his haste to leave the room and evade Yugi in case she changed her mind and decided to hook him again. He made a mental note to stay clear of Yugi for 9 months and keep his pranks to a low otherwise Yugi may get one back on him again and embarrass him further. He needs to get hold of Marik for bringing the idea up in the first place!

The party continued like nothing had occurred and Bakura entered not long after his exit with a bunch of movies stacked up in his arms. The group each selected a movie and took a seat next to their significant other whereas Heba opted for the recliner where he and Yusei sat. With the curtains shut and the lights off, everyone cuddled together while Yugi placed the movie in the player, waiting patiently from the starting credits to finish. She sat beside Yami, his arm around her, and her head on his chest just as the movie began. She let a smile bloom when her head was lifted up and her lips were claimed by her husbands.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Out of all the movies out there, it had to be Titanic.

Heba found himself bringing Yusei closer when the ending was reaching near. There was an emotion building up in his stomach as well as his eyes blurring from the current scene. He was so drawn to the movie that despite feeling sorrow, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the TV screen. He subconsciously raised his hands to rub the moisture from his eyes to clear his vision only for the tears to accumulate repeatedly. Curse this movie and it's need to put a downer on someone's mood. He tried to see how everyone else was faring, but immediately gave up when the darkness of the room prevented him from doing so.

He found himself frowning when the main actor started to sink to the bottom of the ocean "I'll never let go Jack.."

But she let go, literally.

Heba scanned the room, only just noticing that everyone seemed to be sound asleep instead of watching the movie. Smiling, he exited the room and returned moments later with a range of different blankets to keep his friends and family warm. After covering them over, he gave one more glance at their sleeping faces before quietly exiting the room to retrieve his coat. He caught a glimpse at the time on the clock which read 11:34 am, meaning it was still early, but technically late. He should get some sleep before school, but the growing need in his stomach prevented him from doing just that so in the end he decided to take the chance and find a meal before his mum realized he's disappeared without bringing Yusei along with him.

He would is he wasn't asleep, but Heba didn't have the heart to wake him up.

Making sure to shut the door noiselessly, he proceeded down the lengthy walkway and made a swift left turn when reaching the front gate. He had immediately noticed the odd few driving and walking by, but not too many. He assumed it was because most were either at work or attending school to be out and about at such a time. He can only hope he's able to find a lurker soon before his mother suspects his absence. She's like a hawk when she wants to be and that thought alone caused him to pick up his pace from the unease that made a fast approach.

He's not disobedient, nor is he disrespectful of his parents wishes, but when the sudden need to feed arises, he cannot hold back. He hasn't been a full vampire for long, just over a month and already he despises what he needs to do for a living. Because his mother has shadow powers, as her son he also inherited a small percentage of that power that resides within her meaning he's able to use if for his own benefit while feeding. He's never killed another individual and he's not planning to do so. Luckily he's aware of how to make a human subconscious to the real world, therefore he can hypnotize them so they're not fully aware of their surroundings while taking his fair share of blood.

With his mind elsewhere, he didn't process where he was heading until he made contact with a firm wall that had him falling backwards due to the unexpected collision. He grazed his hands over his head and began rubbing, cursing under his breath for his own stupidity. Just as he was about to push up from the ground, a hand was quickly shoved in front of his face making him blink in shock and surprise.

"We need to stop meeting like this, shorty."

At hearing that all too familiar voice calling out to him, he bowed his head in displeasure. Out of everyone, Atemu was conveniently nearby. Trust his damned luck. "What do you want?" Heba questioned in a tone that betrayed his true feelings. Now that he thinks about it, he doubts his question was actually a question and more of a demand like 'fuck off', but Atemu didn't need to know that. It looks like he misjudged Heba's emotions anyway because, by his answer, he didn't seem to pick up on Heba's obvious or not so obvious impatience.

"Good question shorty, but not a great deal. I decided to get some fresh air and bumped into you. It must be fate!"

"Not likely, more like an inconvenience." He mumbled, his hands shoved inside his pocket as he made to leave.

"You never told me your name.." Atemu called, halting Heba in his tracks. It was true, he has no knowledge over the kid whatsoever even though he's not at all surprised with that revelation. They haven't exactly been on friendly terms since they met and their introductions lacked greatly. In all honesty, Atemu wanted to get to know the kid he's deemed as 'shorty' more. There's something about his fiery attitude that he adores and how his eyes light up when they have an argument. He's known the kid for two days and yet he's already intrigued. The thought of the kid leaving didn't settle well with Atemu. The both of them were alone, a great way to get to know each other.

"Heba... My name is Heba." He glanced over his shoulder, eyebrow raised "Are you satisfied? because if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave."

"Avoiding me, again?" Atemu frowned, wondering why 'Heba' shies away from any form of communication that involves him. Hell, he knows he was a jerk at first, but that's just him as a person.

"I'm not avoiding you, I just have things I need to do before my parents realize I'm gone.." He tapped his foot to an imaginary beat, his head snapping to his right when a hand was placed on his shoulder "Huh?"

"Why didn't you say so shorty? What do you need to do?"

Heba sighed at the nickname, but answered anyway. If Atemu was being civil, so can he. "I need to feed, it's that time of the week you know..?"

He clicked his tongue "I see. No luck?"

"I'd have better luck if you'd let me leave."

Atemu held his hands up towards the air in mock surrender "Hey hey shorty, don't mind me. By all means, take your leave."

With those words spoken, Heba thought he'd jump right at the opportunity to escape the male but instead discovered himself glued to the spot. His head instinctively shot up when Atemu gave his shoulder a squeeze when he made no move to exit or even acknowledge his words. There was a sudden emotion that built up in the pit of his stomach, his eyes fogging as the emotion elevates towards his chest where it struck his dead heart. It was like fire, a terrible burn of flames that were about to erupt from his chest and leap out of his throat. The chest area was the worse, like a ping of an unknown pain or an electric shock given to his dead organ. He felt empty and alone, his body completely numb, but he doesn't know why or how this sudden feeling advanced on him.

"Heba?" His voice was smooth and calm, contrasting to his usual demanding and authoritative tone. He noticed the bloody tears streaming down the smaller males face and immediately brought him into an embrace, his chin resting atop his head. He felt an overwhelming need to protect the boy in his arms, a strong wave of possessiveness taking over his body and actions. He squeezed the unresponsive figure tighter to his chest, ignoring those who passed by the two and saw their embrace. "Why are you crying?"

Heba opened his eyes, mind snapping back to reality at Atemu's question. He pulled away from the male, his hands instantly working on ridding his eyes of the moisture that's irritated his eyes and stained his cheeks. He let his hands drop, his head following promptly to gaze at the concrete below his feet, finding the cracks to be somewhat interesting in his current predicament. He just cried openly in front of someone he was starting to deem an enemy because of Atemu's constant need to aggravate him. He doesn't even have a valid answer on why his mood changed so suddenly.. There's one emotion building up in his chest that's unmistakable.. It's loneliness. But why does he feel lonely? Why now? ".."

"Heba.. Answer me.."

He begrudgingly locked eyes with hypnotic wine, startled at their close proximity. "I'm not sure.." He answered, his throat becoming unbelievably dry as Atemu moved closer, their chests brushing. Again he found himself glued to the spot and unable to move a muscle to escape. He tensed as hot breath caressed his ear, the sensation disturbing, but also quite satisfying.

"Don't lie to me shorty.. Your eyes fail to conceal your true emotions.."

Amethyst gems lay concealed by eyelids as Heba strained his head while squeezing his eyes closed at those soft spoken words. What could he say when he knows only partly the reason why his emotions had suddenly taken a negative turn? He can only blame it on that 'Titanic' movie that he watched before leaving his home. It seemed to be a trigger of some sort, making his stomach clench due to all the new feelings. Their love was so intense that he couldn't help but look around the room only to notice that he was the only one without a lover to wake up to every morning. It saddens him to a deeper level than he ever thought possible. "It doesn't concern you."

Atemu sighed knowing the kid won't speak of the truth. He tried telling himself that he didn't care, but that would be a complete lie. There's something about the male that keeps him coming back, whether he speaks to him in person or watches his from afar. He's not a stalker, far from it, but he cannot help but be drawn towards the kid and his firey temperament. He let his hand drop from his shoulders, turning his back on the smaller "Whatever." He grunted, shoving his hands inside his pockets in mild frustration.

Heba watched Atemu's eyes turn blank, his barriers rebuilt and denying any emotions to slip. He just grunted and made to leave without uttering another word, however, the thought of Atemu leaving sent a wave of pain striking into his chest, his head dipping to stare at his shoes as a diversion "Stop."

But he didn't stop. He carried on walking down the pathway without a second glance, his shoulders rigid, and his posture tense. Heba knew he heard him, he was sure of it. Bowing in defeat, he kicked at the pavement before trailing down the long path to find a meal, oblivious to Atemu who had stopped short and watched the defeated teen walk in the opposite direction.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Kicking off his shoes near the entrance, Heba applied pressure on the front door with his back to shut the door as quietly as possible in case his parents were still asleep. He glanced around his home already noticing the lights were still off just like he left them. He unfortunately, was out longer than he believed necessary, about an hour or just over. He can only hope that his parents were still in the living room, but with how long he was out, it doesn't seem likely. He placed his coat on the rack and entered the kitchen sluggishly, his hand cupping his head.

"You're back."

Heba jumped at the unexpected sound, his eyes scanning the kitchen frantically before landing onto the figure relaxing on a chair at the table, his head held lazily by his palm. He bit the corner of his lip and took a seat adjacent to his father, eyes anywhere but locking with his. "Hey.."

Yami sighed as he brought his steaming mug of hot chocolate to his lips, the heated liquid warming his insides. He watched his son with questioning eyes, his body leaning forward as he awaits for his youngest sons response to his unspoken question.

"I went to feed and had a short walk afterwards."

Yami nodded in understanding, his finger trailing the rim of his cup "I see. That's understandable although I'm sure your mother wouldn't take your disappearance so lightly especially since she's.." He trailed off knowing his son understood where he was going. "You're lucky I was the one who awakened first and carried her to bed instead of waking her up..And yes, everyone else is gone and automatically assumed you went to bed so you're off the hook."

Heba grinned when he mentioned his mother. Yes, that was true. She would go berserk over something so minor! "I agree, she would surely go insane if she found out, I feel sorry for you dad, you need to put up with her constantly!" His grinned widened when his father sent him a glare.

"Laugh while you can. You'll be in my shoes one day."

Heba let out a snort "Yeah right."

Yami noticed Heba's change in demeanour and frowned, his fatherly instincts acting on point "You don't believe you'll find that special someone?" He didn't like his sons attitude in the slightest. It's not like Heba at all to put himself down.

"I'm eighteen dad, and I still haven't found that 'special someone', hell Jaden and Mokuba have a lifelong companion whereas I don't! Fuck, I just hate it. I detest being alone. I resent times like this where you all cuddle up together and I'm on my own." Heba gripped his hair but didn't pull. He had to let out his frustration in front of someone to find relief. He needed to tell somebody how he felt. "Why is it so difficult dad? Why haven't I found a girl to settle down with like my brother?"

Yami stayed silent during Heba's small rant as he didn't want to upset his son further. He felt guilty for not suspecting things sooner, but by the way Heba was acting, he didn't suspect it either. He pushed up from his seat and pulled his son in a tight embrace in hopes to pacify him and offer him a small amount of comfort. "Why didn't you say something?"

"Truthfully it didn't bother me until today dad.. I know it's selfish of me, but I'm scared of being alone." He held his father back, his head resting on his shoulder.

"Everyone is scared of being alone, son. I often found myself wondering if I'd ever find that special someone to spend the rest of my life with."

"But you already hav-"

"- I didn't know that at the exact time, did I?" He brushed Heba's limp locks out of his eyes to reveal beautiful amethyst gems that resemble his wife's. "The future is uncertain, but I know the future all depends on what you do today. Don't sit wallowing in self-pity since that way, it will be almost impossible to find yourself."

Heba titled his head to the side, his father's words swarming in his mind "Find myself?"

"That's something you need to figure out on your own. The answer is closer than you think, search for it, but for now I think we should get some sleep, don't you?"

Heba wasn't quite finished with his own questioning, but gave in when he glanced at the clock. Maybe they could talk about it at a convenient time. He gave a nod, a genuine smile pulling at his lips "Thanks dad, I feel better now."

"Any day kiddo, goodnight." He gave his son a kiss on the forehead before disappearing out of the kitchen and upstairs to join his wife in bed. This left Heba alone in the empty kitchen to reflect back to the interesting, but rather puzzling conversation with his father.

Heba slumped back into the chair closest to him, his eyes directed towards the ceiling while his fingers absentmindedly twiddled with the hem of his shirt. There's one thing Heba needs to do when he arrives at school tomorrow. He needs to apologize to Atemu.

-x-x-x-x-x-

I'm going to halt with my writing for the time being as unfortunately I'm not really feeling it anymore.. I'm not discontinuing this sequel, just taking a small break. I'd more than likely come back and add a couple of paragraphs when I'm in the writing mood, but until then, this will be the last chapter until I get the motivation to write as my previous spark has dimmed..

I think I need to watch Yu-Gi-Oh or read stories to get that spark back.. I think I'll do just that xD

I also need to re-edit the whole of 'Crimson Blood' and the few chapters of 'Bloody Rose', but nothing major so you won't need to re-read ^.^

Ps; sorry for the mistakes, I'll change them when I get around to it!

Evee x