(I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh)

*************Chapter 13*************

Hours later, Yami was feeling much more rested. He stretched and yawned, still finding it hard to believe that he was actually free from his father. He smiled sleepily at the thought.

"What's so funny?" He started slightly, not having heard Seto approach. He smiled even more widely at the sight of his love leaning against the doorframe.

"I'm just thinking..." he yawned again, "about how great this is." Seto raised one eyebrow.

"'This' being what, exactly?"

"The fact that I am actually... safe." He blushed. "And loved..." He self-consciously lowered his eyes as Seto laughed happily.

"Yes. That you are," he agreed. "That you are. So," He brusquely changed the subject. "You ready for dinner?" Yami seemed surprised.

"Dinner? What time is it?"

"Almost seven... why, what time did you think it was?"

"Uh... like, four? Five, maybe? I don't know..." Seto laughed.

"Come on, let's go. Oh, yeah, um... my mom is a little strange, so... just try to ignore her, okay?" Yami cocked his head.

"Huh? What do you mean strange?" Seto just rolled his eyes.

"She's not the most mature person... she means well, though. You'll see what I mean in a minute."

As they entered the kitchen, where the rest of the Kaiba family was congregated, Seto noticed his mother's expression turn from one of mild boredom to absolute delight. He shot her a warning look, praying that she wouldn't be too overbearing. She batted her eyelashes at him innocently.

"Hi, guys," His dad's kind voice made Yami flinch ever-so-slightly, but he smiled nervously at the big man.

"Hey, Mom, Dad, this is Yami. Yami, these are my parents." His father, having noticed Yami's discomfort, slowly offered his hand, being sure to not startle him. Yami cautiously shook his hand, muttering how he was pleased to meet him. Seto's mother, on the other hand, took the less-than-subtle approach, and practically tackled him in a huge hug. Seto was about to throw her off of Yami, as the boy's body stiffened and a panicked look flashed onto his face, but he recovered a moment later, and actually hugged her back.

"Gah! You're adorable!" She squealed. Yami raised an eyebrow at Seto from over the woman's shoulder. Seto mouthed "I told you so" and stuck out his tongue.

"Jesus, Mom. Let him breathe," Mokuba teased, poking at her back. She held Yami at an arm's length for a few moments, studying his face intensely. Yami squirmed uncomfortably.

"Um... I'm happy to meet you both..." His voice was barely a whisper as he lowered his eyes to the floor. He wasn't sure what to make of their behavior; with his parents, the less attention they paid to him, the better. Suddenly, her face broke into another wide grin, and she leaned forward to gently kiss his forehead. His eyes widened slightly as she hugged him again, more gently this time, and whispered to him.

"Don't worry, dear. We'll take care of you." He fought tears at the sincerity behind the words; he hadn't expected to be welcomed in like this by Seto's parents.

"T-thank you," he managed to whisper back. She kissed his forehead again before turning away, excitedly ordering everyone to sit down for dinner.

Although Yami remained mostly silent during dinner, it was not an uncomfortable silence. He felt welcome, but not obliged to join in the conversation. Every now and then, Seto would reach over and give his hand a gentle squeeze, or brush his leg against Yami's. One of these times, Seto's mother noticed the contact, and, blushing bright red, burst into high-pitched giggles, which were apparently contagious, as Mokuba soon joined. Seto's father face-palmed, sighing heavily, and Seto kicked her under the table. She feigned hurt, pouting, until Seto called her a "shameless fangirl" and told her to "pull herself together."

"God, Seto. Where did I go wrong? You're no fun..." She winked at Yami. "I don't know how Yami puts up with you..." noticing that Yami had finished eating, Seto decided that the time had come to leave the table.

"Alright! Well, Yami, if you're finished, I'll show you the rest of the house." Yami nodded, standing to join Seto.

"Thank you very much for dinner... I appreciate your hospitality so much..." He couldn't meet either parent's eyes as he expressed his heartfelt thanks. He felt bad, imposing on them, but he had to admit that he had no other choice, really. Ignoring his mother's and Mokuba's shared glee at the act, Seto took Yami's hand gently in his own and led him from the room.

"Sorry about them..." Seto apologized when they were back in the bedroom. Yami shook his head.

"No, they're fine! I like your parents. They're so much nicer than mine..." although he felt bad admitting it, he envied Seto and Mokuba. "They don't mind, though? About... you know, about us?" Seto shook his head.

"No. They're pretty open-minded about things like that. Besides, did you see my mom? I'm telling you, she's a freaking fangirl. Not even kidding. It's weird." Yami laughed at the mournful look in Seto's eyes.

"Oh, come on. She's not that bad. You haven't spent time around my parents..." his expression darkened, and Seto placed his arm around Yami.

"It's okay, though, because we don't have to spend any time around them if we don't want to." The thought made Yami smile widely.

"So... your parents don't mind that Yugi and I are staying? Why are they doing this for us?"

"Yami, they want to help you. I've told you a million times, you don't deserve all the shit that man put you through, and if they can help you to be happy, of course they'll help. It's not like it's a problem for them, either. We have plenty of room, and we are more than able to feed you. Don't worry about it," he ordered. Noticing when Yami opened his mouth to protest, he cut him off. "And don't even think about apologizing." He laughed as Yami glared at him, and then pulled him in for a kiss. "Aww, don't be mad at me. Besides, look who's here to see you!" he gestured to the corner of the room.

"Hey!" Yami exclaimed, overjoyed upon noticing the large cage. "Viktor!" The large, brown rat was sticking his nose between the bars, his whiskers and ears twitching excitedly at the sound of his master's voice. Yami excitedly opened the cage. Viktor immediately climbed up his arm to perch on his shoulder, where he affectionately sniffed and licked at Yami's ear. Yami laughed at the sensation of the whiskers tickling his neck, and turned to Seto. "When did you get him out? I was so worried..." Seto was looking at the rodent with mixed emotions. Sure, it was kinda cute, but... it was a rat. A rat.

"Uh... one of my dad's employees got him after we left... he got some of your clothes, too." Yami suddenly picked his pet up around the waist, holding the squirming creature towards Seto. Viktor clearly did not appreciate being held like this, and Seto wasn't entirely sure if he appreciated Viktor.

"Hold him?" Yami asked. "Aww, please?" he begged, when Seto shook his head. "For me, Seto?" Well, that was totally unfair. How could he resist when he asked like that?

"Um. Well, fine. Will it... bite me?" He tried not to show how nervous that thing actually made him, but he knew that Yami wasn't fooled.

"No, he won't bite you. He doesn't bite. Ever. Unless you're wearing socks; then he'll nibble on your toes. I don't know why he does that, but I think he has a foot fetish." Seto shook his head at the sheer strangeness of the situation. He'd never seen Yami this excited and this talkative and open. Tentatively, he held out his cupped hands. He flinched when Viktor was placed on his palms and immediately tried to run up his arm.

"Gah! Yami! Ugh! Help! I don't want to drop him! What if I hurt him?!" He started to panic as the energetic creature explored his arm and shoulder, giving him goosebumps as its sharp claws grazed his skin. Yami could barely contain his laughter. Seto fixed him with a scathing glare, the effect of which was slightly diminished by the jittery movements he made every few seconds when the rat would scurry across his shoulders or the back of his neck, making snuffling noises in his ear. "Ah!! What the hell is it doing!?" He screeched, not even caring that he sounded like a 10-year-old girl as Viktor tried to clean out his left nostril. By this point, Yami was doubled up, he was laughing so hard. "Take him! I don't want to hurt him!" Seto commanded, his voice rising in panic.

"J-just g-g-grab him!" Yami gasped. "Trust m-me, y-you won't h-hurt him!" Seto still didn't know what to do; the rat's body looked fragile, and he didn't want to crush his small bones.

"Yami, I'm serious!!!" Finally, Yami reached out and roughly grabbed the small terror.

"Come on, Viktor. Leave poor, poor Seto alone," Yami chastised Viktor, teasing Seto at the same time. "He can't handle you, apparently." He kissed the back of the rat's head, causing him to squirm around in irritation until he had turned around completely. Unable to escape from his master's grip, he turned to his only defense, and covered Yami's fingers and invading lips with rat kisses, his tiny tongue working frantically as he struggled like a small child trying to escape from an overbearing aunt. Seto watched incredulously at the two; Yami's carefree, open love towards his pet, and the small creature's obvious affection towards the boy. Huh, he mused. A rat. Who would have thought that a rat would be so... personable? He had always thought of rats as being sort of dirty, mean, and disgusting; that's how they were always portrayed, anyway. It's not really fair, though, he realized. People just don't like them, because of the bad reputation they get from some stupid stories and rumors. He felt inexplicably guilty. Maybe that was why Yami felt such attachment towards this odd pet of his. He knew how it felt, being ostracized for reasons beyond his control; he knew how it felt to be looked at as if he were dirty, vermin, even, regardless of the fact that he had committed no crime. He knew how it felt to be hated just because of who and what he was.

A/N: hey, everyone. What's up? I hope you liked this chapter. Sorry for any errors; it hasn't really been proofread very well, but I wanted to get it posted. I'm working on a sort of lemony bit for the next chapter... it's hard to write!

Fannie (my rat) got surgery! She had a tumor, but we got it removed, and now she is okay. She's healing up really well, and she gained back all of the weight she lost, and then some.

Review, please! Thank you! I love you all!

~alex~