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

A/N: Gah! the last chapter!!! XD enjoy!!

*************Chapter 17 *************

Their outing had started out unremarkable; Yami had refused to decide where they would go, even though Seto still didn't really know much about the area, so they went further into town. They stopped at a fast food place for ice cream, which they ate in the park. Yami was still a little shy about their relationship and showing affection in front of other people, but if Seto was uncomfortable about it at all, he hid it well as he wrapped his arm tightly around Yami's waist.

"Yami!!!"

"What the-" Yami had to fight to remain standing when a brown-haired girl launched herself at him, hugging him tightly.

"Yami, how are you? I haven't seen you in forever!" Well, she was certainly excited... Yami looked slightly taken aback, but not unhappy to see her.

"Tea! What are you doing here?"

"We're staying with my aunt and uncle for the weekend! But how have things been going?"

"Uh, I'm okay... you?" He'd noticed her companions; he recognized the two girls from his chem class. Neither he nor Tea noticed the scathing glares that Seto was sending in the girls' direction.

"Good! This is my cousin, Emily-" she pointed to the brown-haired girl, whose smile looked slightly pained "-and this is my other cousin, Jess." The blond girl gave a little wave. "You guys know each other well enough, right?" They nodded. Tea looked questioningly at Seto.

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot." Yami was getting flustered. He knew the two girls weren't exactly fond of him... "Seto, this is Tea. Our families have been friends since we were born. Tea, um, this- this is m-my... my b-boyfriend, Seto." He could feel his cheeks burning as he stumbled over the words. Tea, however, sounded more than excited.

"Oh, my God!!!" she shrieked, jumping on Yami again."I'm so excited!!! You finally got a man!!!" She suddenly whirled around to glare at Seto, who held his hands up in surrender. "And you had better not break his heart," she warned menacingly.

"Tea!" Yami was mortified, but Seto merely smiled and nodded slightly.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of doing anything like that. If I do, then please, by all means, feel free to hunt me down and kill me in the slowest, most agonizing way you can imagine. He doesn't deserve to be hurt, and I'd rather die than hurt him." He tightened the arm that he had unconsciously draped over Yami's shoulders while he talked, pulling him closer in a protective embrace. "I love him." Emily and Jess seemed mildly uncomfortable, while Tea nodded her approval, winking at Yami.

"I approve," she whispered loudly, making them all laugh. After a moment of awkward fidgeting, Emily finally cleared her throat, fussing nervously with her hair.

"So, um... we have to get going pretty soon, but we wanted to, like, apologize for being, like, such bitches to you." She spoke quickly, color quickly filling her cheeks. "Everyone at school, like, said all kinds of shit, and sorry that we, like, believed it, but, like, Tea told us that none of it is true, so like, we're really sorry about that." Yami wasn't sure how to react. The girl was obviously being genuine, but he wasn't accustomed to dealing with apologies.

"Oh! Uh, um, it's okay..." Her eyes lit up, and Jess turned to Seto.

"Also, that thing with the flowers and the locker that you did, was, like, really romantic and cute. Like, all the guys talk shit, but, like, it's because a lot of the girls are like, jealous that their guys aren't that sweet. So, yeah... a bunch of girls think you guys are a really cute couple..." She seemed at a loss for what to say, so Seto stepped in.

"Well... I had no idea we were so.... famous." Tea laughed, and Emily smiled before responding.

"Surely by now you've noticed that like absolutely nothing happens here. Ever. So, like, when something different happens, everyone, like, jumps on it." She glanced at her watch. "We gotta go meet my mom. But we'll see you guys later, okay?" They waved as the two departed. Tea cheerfully turned to Yami.

"So, Yami. How's your family doing?" Both Seto and Yami tensed visibly. "Shit. Dude, what happened?" All hint of her previous cheerful manner was gone instantly, replaced with concern.

"Ah- nothing terribly huge. I mean, yeah, but... um, my mom left, to go live with some boyfriend of hers, and Dad just kind of freaked out... I mean, you know how he gets... when he's angry. Except it was a lot worse."

"Bastard," Tea muttered. She turned to Seto. "You. Come with me. We have a murder to commit," she ordered, her face completely serious. Seto nodded solemnly, his expression identical.

"Yes, indeed. How would you like to kill him? Something painful, and bloody, I think."

"Oh, yes. Good idea." Yami shoved Tea lightly, and tried to punch Seto.

"Dear God, you two are scary, you know that?" Seto deftly caught the punch, using it to twirl Yami around and plant a soft kiss on his lips.

"It's because we love you." Tea applauded in appreciation.

"So are you and Yugi okay? What happened with that?" Yami blushed again.

"We are actually staying at Seto's house right now..." Her eyes went wide.

"Wait. So you two are living together?"

"Well, it's my parents house, and he and Yugi are just staying there, as it's unsafe for them to go back to their dad..." She waved away his explanations.

"Pleh. Details, details. The point is, you two are living in the same house together, and you're two extremely attractive young guys who are dating. You know what that means, don't you?" Seto looked utterly stumped, an rare occurrence.

"Uh..."

"Adorable yaoi moments!!!" she shrieked, jumping on Yami for a third time.

"You know what I think?" Seto asked, his tone stern. Tea backed off, concerned that she had offended him.

"Uh, what? I'm sorry about that..." He shook his head.

"I think you would get along perfectly with my fangirl of a mother."

"Really? Yes! That means I'll have to spend more time with you two! And how's Yugi doing?" Yami moaned, while Seto just sighed. "What? What's the matter?"

"So, you remember Bakura? Ryou's brother? He's in our grade..."

"Yeah! That crazy albino kid?" Seto smirked at her description.

"Yeah. That's the one. Well... he and Yugi are together, and they won't keep their hands off of each other..." Tea's mouth was hanging open as she stared at Yami.

"Bakura?! Why Bakura of all people?" Yami shook his head.

"Apparently they've liked each other for a while... and I have to admit, as much as I don't like him, he treats Yugi really well."

"Well, he'd better," Tea huffed. "Hmm... I dunno about that. Maybe more adorable yaoi moments?" Seto rolled his eyes and Yami buried his face in his hands. "Oh, shit! My bus! We're coming back for winter break, give you a call then. Bye!!!" They watched in awe as she sprinted to the bus stop, barely making it in time.

"Well," Seto sighed. "That was certainly interesting..."

"Yeah... sorry about her. She means well though..." Yami seemed overly apologetic.

"No, no! I liked her. She was just... very energetic." Yami laughed, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah. She can kind of wear you out."

"You wanna go back and just relax for the rest of the day?" Yami nodded enthusiastically, but his expression turned to one of absolute horror as his face turned deathly pale. "Yami? What's wrong?"

"Shh!" he hissed. "Just stay in front of me... hide me." Seto could feel his adrenaline kicking in.

"Yami, you need to tell me what I'm hiding you from."

"Him!"

"That tells me nothing, Yami!" He was losing his patience. Yami pointed a shaky finger. Slowly, Seto turned to look in the direction indicated. Shit. Shit shit shit. Yami's father was leaning against a light post no more than twenty feet away from them, and had clearly already been drinking. He looked absolutely livid, although from what Seto could tell, that was nothing new. "Okay, don't panic," he whispered to a trembling Yami. "Just walk that way, I'll stay behind you. Okay? Just walk, and maybe he won't see us." He knew that there was very little chance that he wouldn't see them, but he didn't want Yami to have one of his panic attacks.

However, before him and Yami could make a getaway, Seto was knocked to the ground by a harsh blow to the back of his head. Dizzy, he struggled to get to his feet. Fortunately, there were a few people around. Unfortunately, the man already had one hand clenched tightly around his son's wrist, and was squeezing hard enough that the skin was already beginning to bruise. Seto staggered to his feet, and attempted to go towards Yami, but was held back by a concerned bystander.

"Don't go over there! That guy is psycho!" Seto dug his phone out of his pocket, and shoved it roughly at the woman.

"Call the police, now. That boy is the man's son; he's tried to kill him once already." He didn't wait for a response as he broke away from her grasp, his vision clear, but his head pounding.

"Dad, Dad, Dad, no, don't do this, especially not here where there are so many people, Dad, no, no..." Seto's heart ached at the sound of Yami's sobbing, but the pain was soon replaced by fury.

"Shut up, you whore. You think I didn't see you with that kid? Huh? You think you could fool me? Stupid whore! This is why no one wants you!"

"No, no no no no!" This was bad. Seto could hear Yami losing that last shred of control, breaking down completely, but the concerned spectators had once again grabbed him and held him back, preventing him from rushing to Yami's side immediately. "He loves me. He loves me. He loves me," Yami kept muttering to himself. The large man laughed cruelly.

"He loves you? Bullshit! You know who he is, don't you? And his parents? Filthy rich. Could have any guy in the world, and why would he keep you around? 'Cause you're a good fuck, that's why. Trust me, I would know." That was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. With renewed strength, Seto pushed through the crowd until he reached them. By this point, the man had both of Yami's arms. Yami wasn't even fighting any more; he just hung there in his father's grip, his eyes focused on nothing, tears streaming silently down his face.

"Let go of him. Now." Seto's voice was shaking with rage.

"Why the fuck should I let go of him? He's my son!" The only good part about the situation was that everyone around them could clearly hear what the man was saying. "I'll do with him what I want!"

"No! No, no you won't. Not when 'what you want' involves rape!" He felt as if he were being torn in two as Yami flinched violently at the very sound of the word. Forgive me, Yami, he pleaded silently.

"It isn't rape." What the fuck?

"How do you figure?" Seto spat out.

"He's a whore. He loves every second of it! Don't you, you little slut?" He shook Yami roughly, slapping his cheek as the boy shook his head forcefully.

"Do. Not. Hit. Him." Apparently, even the thick-skulled moron could hear the dangerous tone to Seto's voice, and he shoved a sobbing Yami forcefully to the cement.

"Fine! Take him! He's worthless anyway!" he yelled drunkenly as he tried to leave. He was stopped by two men, larger than himself, who looked at him as if he were something disgusting on the bottom of their shoe. "Let me go!" he shouted. When they refused, he launched into a barrage of slurred insults and curses. Seto knelt by the fallen boy, waving away the concerned woman who approached them.

"Hey, Yami, it's okay, love. It's okay. Look." Yami flinched violently away from his touch.

"No! Don't touch me!" His voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Yami, it's me! It's me. It's okay!"

"No, it fucking isn't okay!" Seto was shocked by the anger in the words. "No, it isn't! Because he's fucking right! I'm just a stupid whore, and that's all anyone will want me for!" Seto sighed.

"Yami, shut the fuck up. That's bullshit, and you know it. When has that bastard ever told you the truth? When has he ever given you reason to trust him on anything? You don't trust him, but you're going to now, now that he's playing on your insecurities? Do you really think that lowly of me, that I'd keep you around for a 'good fuck?' I don't know how I can get you to really, truly believe that I love you; I've tried everything, and you still won't fucking believe me. I love you! I can't put it any simpler than that..."

Seto's profession of love, however, was interrupted. "Sir? Are you injured?" When had the police and paramedics arrived? Seto hadn't even heard the sirens...

"No, no, I'm fine. Help him," he ordered the man.

"Sir, we were told that you were struck in the back of the head... we need to make sure you don't have any head trauma."

"Help him first. Then me," he insisted. The man nodded, reaching over to help Yami.

"No no no! Don't touch me!" Yami shrieked at the top of his lungs. "No, no... no, please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Don't hurt me, please..." He was, by this point, hysterical. The paramedic was looking frantic as he struggled to calm Yami enough so that he could get a face mask on him. Seto knelt next to Yami's head, sending the paramedic to stand back with a glare. Gently, he touched Yami's back, shushing him softly as he flinched. He started rubbing the boy's back in small circles that gradually got larger as he murmured condolences to him, and slowly, the frantic cries subsided to a more steady, subdued sobbing.

"Shh... See? It's okay, love. I'm here. Look, your dad's in the police car. In the back. With the hand cuffs. See? He's not gonna hurt you. Shhh, it's okay..." Eventually, he was able to convince Yami to allow him to slip the oxygen mask over his head, and his breathing became less erratic. Seto glanced at the police officer who had come to stand by the paramedic, and shook his head at him to let him know that Yami was not yet ready. The officer nodded in recognition, and Seto spent the next five minutes comforting Yami, explaining what was going on and calming him down, to the point of rational thought. The woman who had called the police had given Seto's phone to the officer, and when Yami was stable enough to stand, the man approached them slowly.

"Hey, guys. You okay there?" Yami only flinched slightly this time. "Don't worry. I'm going to help you, okay? You'll be okay." Seto shot the man a grateful look, and the man handed him his cell phone. "I need you to contact his family for me." Seto nodded shortly, holding Yami's hand tightly. He quickly called Yugi, who fortunately answered almost immediately.

"Yugi? I need you to get in touch with your mom, and you two need to meet us at the police station. Is Mokuba around? Good. Have him contact my father, and tell him to come home immediately."

"What?! Is Yami okay? What the hell happened?"

"He's okay, he's here. We had a run-in with..." He stopped there.

"My dad?"

"Yep."

"That fucker. I'll fucking kill him," he said, sounding more matter-of-fact than angry. Seto could hear Bakura's concerned voice in the background.

"You and me both. Now just get down here. See you then." The ride to the station was uneventful; Yami stared silently out the window, and the officer didn't ask any questions. They were taken to a waiting room where a kind officer sat with them, gently asking Yami questions. With encouragement from Seto, he was able to tell her what she needed to know, and less than an hour later, Yugi rushed in, followed by a worried-looking Bakura. A few steps behind them came a woman who looked like she didn't want to be there. She sighed and rolled her eyes when she saw Yami's swollen eyes, and tapped her foot impatiently.

"God, now what's his problem?" Seto was about to leap for her throat, but Yugi beat him to it.

"Shut the fuck up, Mom. His problem is that he has parents like you and dad. Now stop being such a selfish bitch and actually do your job as a parent for once." She was too stunned to scold him for talking to her like that, and she sat down without another word.

"Oh my God, Yami baby! Are you okay, sweetie?" Seto's mother came flying into the room, instantly enveloping Yami in a warm hug, her hair falling around him as she kissed the top of his head. He reached up and wrapped his arms around her, clutching her tightly as she stroked his hair and murmured to him. Yugi turned triumphantly to his own mother.

"Are you taking notes, Mom?" He spat out that word with contempt. "And I use that term loosely... That's how you're supposed to do your job..." Yugi must have been trying to provoke her, because she looked about ready to smack him.

When the detective tried speaking to Yami's mother, she threw up her hands.

"You want the truth? I don't fucking care! They're the only ones who care about the faggot, let them be his guardians. I'm sick of dealing with his shit!" Yugi jumped out of his chair, red-faced.

"What the fuck, Mom! You don't love him because he's gay? Well guess what, you stupid bitch!" He pulled a surprised Bakura in for a passionate kiss.

"Okay, that's it. I've had it with both of you failures. I'm out of here," she announced, glaring at her younger son with disgust.

"Ma'am, you are his legal guardian. You have custody of both of your sons."

"Don't want it!"

"Are you revoking custody of them?"

"Yeah. You two," she called to Mr. and Mrs. Kaiba. "Would you be willing to act as their legal guardians?" Seto's father's eyes widened, while his mother's mouth fell open in shock.

"Are you serious? What kind of mother are you? These are your children you're talking about giving away to people you don't even know!!" She was livid, but Yami's mother just glared.

"I know damn well what I'm talking about. Now will you act as their guardians, or what?" The couple didn't need to consult each other.

"Yes!" they answered in unison. Seto's mother glared at Yami's, wishing that she could shoot lasers from her eyes (she pretended like she could, imagining the shooting sounds as well), as she signed away her children. As soon as she was able to, she was out of her seat, fixing her hair, checking her lipstick, and rearranging her cleavage.

"B-bye, Mom," Yami called softly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not," Yugi muttered murderously.

"Huh? Oh, bye, Yami. Bye, Yugi," she responded automatically as she breezed through the door. Yugi was shaking with anger.

"That stupid fucking whore!" he hissed. Bakura pulled him in to a tight hug.

"Woah, now. Calm down, Yuge. She's not worth losin' your temper." Seto was more inclined to agree with Yugi as he sat with Yami, still holding his hand. Bakura turned to Seto. "So does that make you two brothers, or what?"

"Bakura, shut up. Not the time for that," Yugi snapped. Bakura looked so hurt that Seto couldn't help feeling bad for him.

"Aww, it's okay, Yugi. He was just wondering. And NO, we AREN'T brothers."

Yami slowly returned to his normal self as the evening went on. Seto drove Yami back to the house, and Bakura drove Yugi. Seto's parents had to stop by the company to take care of the business they had rushed out on earlier. When Seto arrived home, he found Ryou and Mokuba looking slightly panicked as they rearranged their clothes and tidied their hair. Bakura, who had just walked in the door, raised an eyebrow at his glaring little brother, catcalling quietly. Ryou (not so) discreetly gave him the finger, and Mokuba just avoided all eye contact with anyone.

"Yami, it's okay!" Seto finally sighed to Yami, who kept shooting him nervous looks, as they were laying on the couch later that evening.

"Sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For being so much trouble all the time. And don't say I don't complicate things, because I do!" Seto rolled his eyes.

"Fine. You totally overcomplicate things, because you can't live with yourself and just accept the fact that everyone who actually has half a brain in their head absolutely loves you. And even though some things concerning you are trouble, you are more than worth it." He didn't give Yami a chance to argue with him as he kissed him aggressively, biting slightly at his lower lip.

"HEY!" The two of them practically leapt off of the sofa in alarm, only to find Bakura standing there laughing. "Sorry, you guys, but you wouldn't let me 'n' Yugi do anything either. Just makin' sure you guys follow the rules."

"Bakura," Yami said wearily. "When the fuck have you ever cared about the rules?" The albino shrugged.

"Oh, I care about them on occasion, but only when they work for me." Seto and Yami rolled their eyes, and went back to their previous activities, making Bakura laugh obnoxiously on his way out of the room.

When the Kaiba parents returned home, they were bearing pizza (which is obviously better than gold, frankincense, or myrrh), and insisted that everyone stay for dinner. Fortunately, they had bought enough pizza to feed an army (not a small one, either), because Bakura ate an entire pizza by himself.

After dinner, Seto's mother sought out Yami alone. Her eyes still held their mischievous gleam, but her expression was gentle and genuine.

"Yami, sweetie, what's wrong? Something else is bothering you. What's the matter?" she asked him softly, stroking his cheek lovingly. He found it hard to look her in the eye.

"I'm just really sorry for all the inconvenience I've caused. I swear that as soon as I'm 18, I can have custody of Yugi, and we'll get out of your hair. I'm just really sorry for imposing..." She was shaking her head.

"Yami, you're under the impression that I'm going to let you out of our hair when you turn 18."

"But I-"

"You aren't imposing, and I would be more offended if you tried to leave us as soon as you could. So if you don't want to insult me, you can't leave when you turn 18. I told you already, we're going to take care of you, whether you want us to or not." Yami sighed, knowing that he'd lost. She took his hands in her own. "Yami, we all love you. We want you here, Yami. You belong here with us." She hugged him again, and then they went back out to the living room, where everyone else was playing a game of Scrabble. Apparently, the rules were moot, because Mokuba was throwing the letter tiles, and Ryou was jabbing him with the wooden pieces. Bakura was using his tiles to spell out sexual words, while a red-cheeked Yugi struggled to destroy the words as quickly as they were being made. Seto held out his arms, and Yami gladly joined him. There, in the arms of his love, surrounded by people who he loved and who loved him, Yami knew he had finally found his home.

:~:end:~:

A/N: What?! How did this even happen?! I wasn't intending to write the last chapter, but I sat down and started typing, and it just worked out that way. Sorry if the legal stuff is all messed up. I was getting impatient writing that part, so that's just how their legal system is gonna work, okay? haha but really, please tell me what you think. I would really appreciate reviews!!

I dunno where Tea came from, all last-minute like that. I don't even really like her, but she turned out pretty likable in this. hmm...

Many thanks to soundofmadness223

I love you all!

~alex~