Chapter 5- Growing Closer
"Yuugi, can I play with Ishizu again today?" Mana asked as they got ready for the day.
"If Isis says that it's all right to, then yes, you can." Yuugi said.
"Great!" Mana said happily.
Yuugi looked down at her smiling sister. "You like playing with Ishizu, don't you?" Yuugi asked.
"Yeah! I like having someone to play with. Ishizu's fun." Mana said.
Yuugi smiled. "All right, Mana. Let's go." Yuugi said.
The two left the room and started to walk down the hall.
"I see that you two are up." a deep, baritone said.
Yuugi and Mana looked to see that Yami was walking toward them.
"Good morning, Yami." Yuugi said.
"Good morning. I take it that you both are heading to breakfast." Yami said.
"Yes." Yuugi replied.
"I was going there as well, so I'll walk with you." Yami said.
"Yuugi, should we wait for Heba?" Mana asked.
"Mana, I don't think that Heba will coming to breakfast just yet." Yuugi said.
"Why not?" Mana asked.
"I think that Atemu and Heba may have stayed up late, uh, talking." Yami answered.
"Why?" Mana asked.
"Heba and Atemu hadn't been able to see each other for several months. They just want the chance to be alone." Yuugi said.
"Okay." Mana said.
The three started down the hall with Mana skipping ahead of them.
"You know that they weren't "talking" as you out it." Yuugi said.
"I know exactly what Atemu had in mind, and I know that we won't be seeing them for awhile, but Mana didn't need to know the real reason that they are going to be late getting up." Yami said.
"Agreed." Yuugi said.
Atemu woke up with a sleeping Heba in his arms. He smiled down at his lover. He loved having Heba back again. They had spent the last night loving each other for all they were worth.
Of course, Heba had been a little self-conscious given that he was pregnant, but Yami managed to get him to see that he didn't care about that.
Atemu leaned down and kissed the top of Heba's head. "I love you, Heba." Atemu murmured.
"I know." Heba replied, a little sleepily.
"I thought that you were still sleep." Atemu said.
Heba looked up at him. "You would think that I would be. After all, we did go four rounds last night." Heba said.
Atemu grinned. "And I'm sure that you loved every second of it." Atemu said.
"Maybe, but it doesn't mean that I'm not tired." Heba said.
"Well then, sleep. I don't think that anyone would bother to try and come and get us anytime soon." Atemu said.
"True." Heba said.
"Besides, I want to spend some time alone with you." Atemu said.
Heba laughed. "Atemu, that's all you want to do, and that usually ends up with us making love." Heba said.
"And the problem with that is?" Atemu asked.
"Nothing, except for the fact that we usually end up not being seen for a few hours, and people know what ended up happening." Heba said.
Atemu laughed. "Since when do I care if people know what I'm doing or not." Atemu laughed.
"You don't." Heba said.
"That would be the point." Atemu replied before he leaned down and kissed Heba.
When Yuugi, Yami, and Mana arrived at the dining room, they found that Mahado, Isis, and Ishizu were the only ones there.
"Hi, Mana!" Ishizu said happily.
"Hi, Ishizu." Mana replied.
"Good morning. Did all of you sleep well?" Isis asked.
"Yes." Yuugi replied.
Servants came and put food down for Yuugi, Yami, and Mana.
"Can I assume that Heba and Atemu probably won't be seen for a while?" Mahado asked.
"That's what I'm thinking." Yami replied.
"Why won't they be seen for a while?" Ishizu asked.
"Yami said that they stayed up late talking." Mana replied.
"Did they?" Ishizu asked.
"Yes. I am sure that they did." Isis replied.
"Oh, Isis. Would you mind if Mana played with Ishizu again today?" Yuugi asked.
"Of course not. I don't mind at all." Isis replied.
After breakfast, Mahado left to go and do his work while Isis took Ishizu and Mana with her to the healing chambers.
"Well, I don't know what I am going to do today." Yuugi said.
"What do you mean?" Yami asked.
"I don't have anything to do. After all, I really don't think Heba's going to want to hang around me considering that he and Atemu are together again, and I don't really have anyone I know." Yuugi said.
"How about I show you around the palace? There are a few places that you won't be able to go, but I can show you where you can go." Yami said.
"That would be nice, but don't you have things that you need to do?" Yuugi asked.
"Not really. Most of what I do is be there for the meetings, and we won't have any today unless there is an emergency." Yami replied.
"All right. I think that I would like to see the palace." Yuugi agreed.
The two left the dining room.
Atemu had had breakfast sent up to their room since he and Heba didn't really want to leave the room just yet.
"You know that people are going to start to wonder where we are." Heba told him.
"I know that, Heba, and I don't really care." Atemu said.
Heba rolled his eyes. "People are going to think that I am the most important thing to you." Heba said.
Atemu smirked. "You are. Well, you and the little one." Atemu said, putting a hand on Heba's stomach.
Heba giggled. "Okay. So you have two favorite people." Heba said.
"Yes, I do." Atemu said.
"I guess that's okay. At least it's our child that's the other important person." Heba said.
"Trust me. There is no one that is ever going to be more important to me than you and our child." Atemu said.
"I'm glad to hear that." Heba said.
"And there's no one that is going to come between us again." Atemu said.
"You mean, there are people that are not going to try and say you got them pregnant?" Heba asked.
"There might be, but if you've already had my child, that won't make much of a difference." Atemu said.
"I see." Heba said.
"Don't worry, Heba. There is no one that is coming between us again." Atemu said.
"I know, but I get a strange feeling that Vivian and her father haven't given up quite yet." Heba said.
"I know that they probably haven't, but there is not much that they can do right now. Let's just forget about them right now. They've already been caught trying to get the throne by lying, so the council is not going to believe much of what they have to say." Atemu said.
"Okay. We'll forget about them. I would much rather focus on you and our baby anyway." Heba said.
"And that it what we are going to concentrate on. To me, you're the most important thing." Atemu said.
"That's good." Heba said.
Yami and Yuugi were sitting in the lounge, playing a game of chess.
"You're pretty good, Yuugi. There's only a few people that are this good." Yami said, making another move.
"Thanks. I like games, and I love to play them. I just don't get to play that often." Yuugi said.
"Well, if you like to play games, I think that you and I will become good friends. I don't get to play games often since all my friends have lovers that they would prefer to be with." Yami said.
"You can't blame them for falling in love." Yuugi said.
"I know, and I don't blame them. I'm happy for them, actually." Yami said.
"I am, too. I'm just glad that Heba found someone that loves him. I can tell that Atemu loves him. I could tell that when we first came to the palace, and Atemu saw him again." Yuugi said.
"Well, Atemu was depressed since Heba left although I think that we all understand why Heba left. He was scared, and I get that. I'm just glad that Heba came back and really glad that you came with him." Yami said.
"Why's that?" Yuugi asked curiously.
"Because you're the one that figured out how to get Vivian and her father out of the palace, not to mention the fact that you gave us a way to get rid of Aman. You have no idea how long we have looked for a reason to get him off the council." Yami said.
"Was he really that bad?" Yuugi asked.
"Oh, yes. He was the one pushing for an immediate marriage between Atemu and Vivian, which we know why now. He always was contradicting what Father did. He was always against it, even when he was the only one." Yami said.
"Who will replace him?" Yuugi asked.
"I don't really know. At least not right now. Father may wait a little while before he decides to replace him." Yami answered.
"Checkmate." Yuugi said, making her last move.
"You beat me?!" Yami exclaimed.
Yuugi giggled. "I believe that's what checkmate means, Yami." Yuugi said.
Yami smiled at her. "You are really a great player. I don't get beat that often." Yami said.
Yuugi blushed lightly at the comment. "Thank you." Yuugi said.
Yami thought that Yuugi looked cute with the blush.
"Hey, Yami. Do you think that you could show me the way to the palace gardens?" Yuugi asked.
"Sure thing." Yami answered.
The two got up and left the lounge.
"So, you two finally get out of bed?" Seth asked.
Atemu glared. "Oh, like you haven't done the same thing with Jou." Atemu retorted.
"Did that this morning, actually." Seth replied.
"SETH!" Jou exclaimed, turning red.
"Too much information, Seth." Heba said, sitting down.
"I guess you're glad to be back in the palace, Heba." Ryou said.
"Yeah. I am. I'm glad to be back with my friends although I did like being able to see Yuugi and Mana again." Heba said.
"How long will they be staying?" Malik asked.
"I don't really know. Yuugi didn't say." Heba replied.
"You know, Father wouldn't mind them staying." Atemu said.
"I know, but Yuugi would. I can't see her staying." Heba said.
"I know that I have seen a lot of the guys looking at her." Bakura said.
"You think that one of them might go after her?" Marik asked, thinking that someone might try to force themselves onto Yuugi.
"I wouldn't worry about Yuugi." Heba said.
"Why not?" Seth asked.
"Yuugi can take care of herself. Trust me. She's had to do it before." Heba said.
"What do you mean before?" Atemu asked, sitting down beside Heba.
"Well, I told you that no one in the village she lives at really likes her. For them, the only thing that she's good for is taking of their sick or injured. If someone dies, they blame her. A lot of men have tried to rape her, but they usually end up a broken bone. Yuugi may not look like it, but she is strong." Heba said.
"So, you don't think that anything would happen to her?" Marik asked.
"Nope. She'll leave the one who attacks her with a broken bone or two." Heba answered.
"Heba, if your sister lives in a place like that, why would she want to go back?" Ryou asked.
"Yuugi wants to help people. That's just what she likes to do, and she'll go back for that same reason." Heba said.
"That is not a good thing. It sounds like she lives in a really bad place." Malik remarked.
"She does. I'm hoping to convince Yuugi to stay at least until after I have the baby." Heba said.
"That would be nice. I would like the chance to get to know her." Ryou said.
"Thanks for showing me the gardens, Yami." Yuugi said as they walked in them.
"No problem. I don't have that much that I need to do anyway." Yami answered.
"Why are you spending all this time with me? I mean, you must have someone like Atemu does." Yuugi said.
"No. Actually, I don't. It's not that I don't want someone. I just haven't found that person yet." Yami said.
"Well, I am sure that you will find someone sooner or later, Yami." Yuugi said.
"I know. I'm just waiting for that time." Yami said.
"I take it that you have been praying for that." Yuugi said.
"No, I was praying that Ra would bring Heba back to the palace. You were the answer to that prayer since you convinced him to come back." Yami said.
"Yami, all I did was convince Heba that Atemu deserved to know about their baby, and that he couldn't run forever. He was the one who made the choice. I just came along when he asked me to, and Mana came as well because there was no one to leave her with." Yuugi said.
"Well, you did answer my prayer, and for that, I'm grateful to you." Yami said.
"You don't need to be. I'm just glad that Heba and Atemu are together again." Yuugi said.
"So am I. I just hope that we're ready when Vivian and her father throw us the next hurdle. I have a feeling that they'll be back when Vivian has that baby." Yami said.
"That is unless the child looks like it's father, in which there would be no choice, considering the fact that Atemu is not the father." Yuugi said.
"True, but I think they'll be back regardless. They are both very vengeful people, and they're going to want to get back at Heba." Yami said.
"The thing is that Vivian can be banished when the baby is proven to not be Atemu's considering she publicly declared that Atemu was the one that got her pregnant." Yuugi pointed out.
"I think that Father would." Yami said.
"The Pharaoh seemed just as happy to get rid of them." Yuugi said.
"He was. Neither of my parents like Vivian or her father. They know that all Vivian was trying to do was become the queen and get the power and wealth. She didn't care about the baby or Atemu. All she wanted was the luxury." Yami said.
"Well, she won't get that. After all, even if the baby looks like her, the law applies. Atemu wouldn't have to marry her or acknowledge the child because the child would have been conceived before Atemu was eighteen." Yuugi said.
"True, and I would make sure to remind Father and the council of that. For that matter, Father probably won't need to be reminded of that. He'll remember because he wants them out of his hair as well." Yami said.
"Well, I had better go. I'm certain that Heba wonders what I'm doing." Yuugi said.
"I'm sure that they're in the lounge if you want to go there." Yami said.
"All right. Thanks, Yami." Yuugi said. She smiled at him before she walked off.
Yami smiled as he watched her go. 'Yuugi is so fun to be around. She's easy to talk to, and she's so understanding. This has been one of the best days that I have had in a long time.' Yami thought. After a moment, Yami realized what he had thought. 'What the hell! Am I actually attracted to her?! How can that be?! I like only guys! How can I be attracted to a girl when I'm gay?!' Yami thought, shocked at the thought.
'I have to stop this. I can feel myself attracted to Yami, but I can't. I have to remember why I'm here.' Yuugi thought. She knew that she liked him, but she also knew that she had to protect Heba and his child. 'I know that Vivian won't give up, and I have to be ready.' Yuugi thought as she walked into her room.
"Would it be so bad to like him?" a voice asked.
'You know that I can't, Father. There are other things that I have to worry about.' Yuugi told the voice.
"Yuugi, you have the right to be happy, too. Heba and his child are important, but you cannot forfeit your happiness for them. You know that Heba would not want you to do that." the voice said.
'I know, and I won't. Right now, I can't let myself get attached or distracted. Heba is who's important right now. Besides, Yami wouldn't want me when he finds out.' Yuugi said.
"You never know what can happen. You should give it a chance." a female voice said.
'Mother, I cannot take this chance. I have to stick to what I planned. I will worry with my happiness when I know that Heba and the baby are safe.' Yuugi said.
"Very well, Yuugi. Just don't forget about your happiness." the first voice said.
"And don't let anyone stop you from being happy." the female voice said.
'I won't.' Yuugi assured them before she felt the presence leave. 'I have to protect Heba for now. That's all that I can focus on.' Yuugi thought.
Hope that you liked it. You'll find out about the voices later.
Next chapter has Yami confused about his sexuality.
R&R.