(A/N: January 21st. JANUARY 21ST. I'm so embarrassed and ashamed and this is UTTER CRAP that doesn't deserve to be uploaded, I had an entirely different idea of what this chapter was going to be, but my hands said SCREW IT and began to type something else. SIGHS. I'm so sorry for this. It's short and lame and not uploading-material. For those of you still here, thank you for being patient with me. I'm going to hide my face under a rock now.

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

Chapter 19

The first time Yami thinks about having a future with Yugi, he ends up asking his Mom for advice.

Frankly, Yami had never begun to wonder who he was going to spend the rest of his life with. Not until he met Yugi. And even then, he couldn't get a clear image in his head because he didn't know that much about him.

But lately, since their chat about the future, that's all that's been in Yami's head. The same day they discussed their plans for college and jobs, Yami went back home and lied down in his bed, wondering what would become of Yugi and him after high school, which, he remembered, they hadn't talked about. Would they still be together if they went to different colleges? Because it would be terribly difficult for them to go to the same one, considering the careers they want to pursue.

Imagining they were still a couple after college, would they stay together then? They love each other, that's for sure, and after what they've been through, it's hard to think they could break up. But it's not impossible. It could happen at some point.

Yami had all these thoughts running around his head the entire night, stopping him from getting any actual sleep. He visualized the two of them around five or six years later, and their future selves were exactly the way they are today—he saw them as they spent a day together: going for an ice cream cone, going to the movies, taking a stroll at the park.

Then he saw them even more years further, surrounded by people he didn't recognize; there were relatives of his and Yugi's family, so his mind was probably coming up with the picture of a fictional reunion. The point was that Yami perfectly visualized a future with Yugi, even when they hadn't been together for more than a couple of months now.

Is it normal, or is it naïve—dreaming with being in the same relationship for the rest of his life?

Then again, it's happened to a lot of couples, hasn't it? His parents met in high school, and while they broke up and went out with different people, they eventually found their way back to each other. Of course, they had fights and there were nights when Dad would go spend the night at his sister's, but what couple doesn't go through that? And what matters is that at the end, they got married and had a beautiful family. And when Rebecca died, a lot of people thought they'd get a divorce, or blame each other, but they actually grew a lot stronger and, after all these years, began to learn how to deal with it together.

Yami doesn't know if he wants to have kids, someday. But he does know that he'd like to spend his life with Yugi. Or most of it, at least. He doesn't see himself having a future with anybody else.

"Mom?"

Chiyoko is sitting on the couch, a little pad on her lap and a pencil in her hand. She's been trying to compose the music for one of Mamoru's poems, but so far, she hasn't had any luck. She looks up at her son as he sits down next to her. "Yes, dear?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, darling." She sets down the pad. "What is it?"

Yami's a little nervous to ask. He doesn't want to make it seem like he doubts the love his parents felt for each other the first time they started dating. "When you first met my dad," he begins, "did you know you'd get married to him?"

Chiyoko blinks twice. She definitely wasn't expecting this question. "You mean, if I knew he'd be my husband the first time I saw him?"

Yami nods.

She laughs a little. "Well, no, not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"See, Yami," Chiyoko says, sitting sideways so that she can look directly at her son. "You know your father and I met when we were in high school, right? He was a junior and I was a sophomore. Nearly every girl at school had a crush on your father. He was the guy everyone wanted to be like, hang out with, be friends with… Even when we started dating, I couldn't believe he'd chosen me to be his girlfriend. Anyway, we stayed together until the next year, when he graduated. We decided a long-distance relationship wouldn't work between us, so we broke up."

"But why did you decide it wouldn't work?" Yami asks, mimicking his mother's position on the couch. "You didn't love each other?"

Chiyoko looks up at the ceiling, lost in her memories. "Of course we loved each other, but we didn't realize how much just yet."

"So you regretted breaking up?"

"We sure did," she answers him. "It was a horrible year for the both of us, let me tell you that. I tried dating other people, but it always ended after a few days. I missed your father like I had never missed anyone before." Chiyoko's voice turns sad, and Yami feels like reaching out for her hand and squeezing it, so he does just that. She smiles slightly before continuing. "While your dad was away, studying overseas, I was finishing high school. We both had wanted to study the same thing, so I thought I could try to get in an exchange program, just like he had. But when I graduated, your father was back for me."

"Wait, wait," Yami interrupts, the gears turning in his head. "My dad came back for you?"

"Yes," Chiyoko says. "He told me he couldn't stand being away without me. And to make the story short, dear, we dated again and found out we wanted to be together for a long time."

"But how did you know you weren't making a mistake?" Yami questions. It's great to hear his parents felt the same way he feels about Yugi now, but his mom still hasn't answered his original question. "How did you know he was the love of your life?"

"I didn't," she tells him, and he raises an eyebrow in confusion. She continues before he can speak. "Yami, you can't know these things. You may feel like there's no one else you'll be happy with other than Yugi, but nothing guarantees you'll get married in a future."

"You and Dad did," Yami points out.

"Yes, but we weren't sure of it," Chiyoko replies. "What I'm trying to tell you, sweetie," she says, squeezing back his hand, "is that you just let what is bound to happen, happen. You'll know whether you and Yugi are meant to be together or not when the time comes for you to find out."

"I just…" He shakes his head. "I just don't want to feel like I'm only living in a dream."

She leans in and kisses her son's forehead. "I don't want to give you false hope, Yami." Chiyoko stands up from the couch and turns to stare at him. "But with the way things have been between you two, I'm pretty sure you'll be glued by the hip for a couple more years."

As she leaves the living room, Yami can't help but smile to himself, his mother's words echoing in his ears.