A/N: Whew, sorry this update took so long! I've been very busy/distracted this month. Stress, stress, stress. Blaahhhhh....

WARNINGS: YxYY, Mpreg, Mature Themes, Language

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved in this fic.

"No."

"Yugi…" Yami growled, the low warning rumbling in his throat.

"What part of no don't you understand?"

"I can't believe this, Yugi…" he sighed heavily before rolling his eyes. "My goodness…Please?"

"Yami, I may not really look it, but I already feel like a darn balloon."

At the statement, Yami looked down to Yugi's stomach, which now, three months later, still looked to be relatively normal. Yugi had only gained a little bit of weight, and now just had a barely noticeable bump, but he was constantly complaining about it. For someone who had been so tiny his entire life, a few pounds here and there made him feel like a darn sumo wrestler. Yami had also noticed that Yugi was extremely bitter about the fact that his grandfather had restricted him from wearing pretty much anything in his prior wardrobe. All of his skin-tight, leather clothing had been pushed to the back of his closet to make room for all of the baggier jeans, T-shirts, and hoodies. Yugi was not a happy camper.

"I am not going to carry the puzzle around to school today. I don't want any more weight on me."

"Oh, will you quit being so stubborn? Yugi, it's for your own protection. I want to be able to know if you're in danger, and without the link, I, I can't-"

"Well, why don't you just enroll at school then? Hmm? Then you could keep tabs on me twenty-four seven, like I know you want!" he spat. "God Yami, I'll be fine!"

"You know I would enroll to look after you, but, well, you know…"

Yugi paused, his anger residing as quickly as it had flared. He searched Yami's eyes for a second then turned his gaze to the ground and sighed. "I really hope this comes through, Yami. Because if not…"

Yami turned his gaze to the side. "It will. It has to." He cringed slightly at the thought of the past three months and all the jobs he had tried for and been denied. He felt a stab of guilty pain as he looked back down at Yugi, whose eyes were still traveling over the floor. He greatly felt that he had let his aibou down, and now, Kaiba was their only chance. And even if everything went according to plan, nothing was certain. Solomon or even Yugi could change his mind. Kaiba held a piece of their future in the palm of his hands, and that definitely wasn't a nice thought.

"Well, you look very nice Yami," Yugi mentioned as he brought his eyes back up and scanned over Yami's neat clothing in attempt to distract Yami's thoughts. "What time are you meeting with him, again?"

"Nine-thirty. I want to make sure I'm there early though."

"Right." Yugi smiled at him a second, before reaching down to pick up his bookbag, and walking to the door of Yami's bedroom. He froze and paused for a second, and turned back to Yami, an odd expression on his face. "Oh, I uh, might be home later today. Tea's buying the baby some clothes, and she wants me to pick stuff out."

Yami raised an eyebrow. "So soon? But we're not sure-"

"Yeah, I know, but I couldn't talk her out of it. You know how Tea gets…"

"Well, I'd like to be there with you."

"Oh please no, Yami! We just got Tea back into the group. She's really excited about this baby. I don't want you screwing it up."

Yami scowled at him, clearly offended, until Yugi merely shrugged in apology and slipped out of the room. The taller boy stared on, wondering exactly when this change in his light had occurred. 'Oh that's right," he thought bitterly. "Since the baby." Everything seemed to come back to the pregnancy. He sighed as his head swam. His sweet, innocent Yugi was still there somewhere, he was certain, but he rarely saw that side of him these days. Yugi was now moody as heck, and had heavily turned to sarcasm, something he rarely used in the past, and only in good humor. Yami cringed as he thought of the ridiculous arguments that had spawned over the last few months. It seemed that everything he did nowadays upset Yugi. If he even looked at the boy a certain way, Yugi yelled, and fighting was not something he particularly enjoyed. Definitely not with Yugi, anyway. Not with the one person who was always on his side in the past. It made Yami think that maybe, maybe, adoption was their best bet. If Yugi was like this now, hateful and bitter because of what had happened to him, what was he to expect for the future? Would Yugi calm down and return to his old self once the baby was born? Or would he live the rest of his life feeling that he made a very huge mistake?

He straightened up as he forced himself to think of the few good times they had had these past couple of months. Like Yugi's first ultrasound. "That", Yami remembered telling Yugi afterward, "was just…magical." Yami didn't do so well at first, constantly asking the doctor if the process would hurt Yugi, and only after the seventh time Yugi laughed and told him it wasn't so, did he calm down and pay attention to the figure on the screen. It was ever so tiny, but it was life. Life he and Yugi had created. That tiny little thing was his future son or daughter, and the ultrasound technician smiled as Yami squeezed Yugi's hand. Grandpa had also gone with them and stood on, although it was hard to tell exactly what he was feeling. Yami liked to believe that there was a sense of pride and awe in him, even if he wouldn't show it. Moments like that made everything seem so possible. That they could do it, they could raise this baby, and they wouldn't struggle while doing so. It gave Yami so much hope, even though he knew he was asking for too much.

The former Pharaoh shook his head and smiled, ridding himself of all thoughts. He had something bigger to focus on now. A chance to keep their child. A chance to keep their family in tact. Yami glanced over to the desk clock, his eyes straying over the abandoned Millennium Puzzle. Seconds later he was out the door, a black blazer draped over his arm.

Yugi reluctantly moved forward, head and shoulders bent low in an attempt to shrink away from the world. Joey and Tristan walked briskly on either side of him, constantly raising their fists at the whispering, and occasionally laughing passerby. The pregnant boy had been the complete center of attention this morning, and all excitement of it being the first day of school had shifted to him, much to his chagrin. The press had attacked his school, and like so many times before, he had to be protected, rushed inside, leaving him not only frustrated but completely humiliated as well.

"Can we help you!?" Joey barked at a male student who gaped at Yugi and shook his head in utter disgust. The student merely chuckled and stepped into the nearest classroom as Tristan cracked his knuckles. The three finally stopped in front of Yugi's new math class, a class Joey had later in the day.

"Alright," Joey sighed. "You got him for this one, and then we shift next period. I'll meet you out here as soon as I get out."

"Right," Tristan said with a nod.

"Aww come on, cheer up Yug," Joey said with a light, playful punch to the small boy's cheek. Yugi merely looked blankly forward, near the verge of tears, but struggling to keep himself together. "It'll get better. Remember, this is high school. Tomorrow, they'll be onto the next thing."

"Thank you, guys. I-I'm sorry to be such a burden-"

"Hey! You stop that. You're no burden at all, okay? You're my best friend, and I'm going to make sure you're taken care of."

Yugi gave Joey a weak but warm smile, and allowed himself to be led away and into the room by Tristan. Sure enough, he was met with varied stares, but luckily, Tea was also in that class, and she went up to meet them, after telling everyone to get a life. They chose seats in the back of the class much to Yugi's relief, and as he sat through and survived his first class, his confidence was boosted a little. With Tristan and Tea by his side it wasn't so bad. He at least wasn't bombarded with questions.

And with Joey next period, it was absolutely hilarious. The blonde kept purposely drawing attention to himself through the entire class, in whatever way he saw fit. He even farted once during the lecture, although Yugi didn't think that one was actually intentional, as Joey's face turned a deep shade of red and the class burst out into hysterics. The small boy continued to be traded among his friends throughout the day; his final class being the only one he didn't know anyone in. Tristan, Joey and Tea weren't too happy about having to leave him on his own for that last hour, but they didn't have much of a choice: the three had gym that period, and Yugi had been exempt from the class due to his circumstances. He was instead taking an extra history class, trying to get in as many credits in as possible before he had to take paternity leave towards the end of February, if it turned out his gestation period would be the same as a female. No one could tell for sure, and Yugi was terrified beyond belief. It was scary not knowing exactly when the baby was coming or even how.

At the end of his class, Yugi walked over to the gym, and waited patiently in the hallway, slowly rocking back and forth on his heels. After a few more minutes, the door opened, and Yugi glanced up, a smile gracing his face as he watched for his friends. He quickly frowned though when he recognized the first student to walk through the door; it was one of his many bullies, one of Ushio's friends. But for once, Yugi didn't turn or look away; he merely stared as the larger boy grinned and approached him.

"Hey Muto!" the bully said in mock excitement. "Been busy, haven't you?" he said with a glance at Yugi's stomach. Yugi didn't even have time to react to the comment. The next thing he knew, he was roughly shoved face first against the nearest set of bright red lockers, and he groaned as he collided and his breath escaped him.

"You know, I bet your kid is going to turn out to be a sick faggot just like you," the boy said, leaning directly behind Yugi and whispering in his ear. He laughed when Yugi angrily shuddered and released him, leaving the small boy to turn around and push his back against the lockers, gasping heavily for much-needed air as his eyes narrowed. One second the bully was smirking in front of him, but when Yugi blinked and opened his eyes again, his view was empty. He quickly scanned his surroundings and breathed in again when he saw the guy on the floor, clutching his cheek, his eyes burning into the figure before him. Yugi looked to his right, and saw Joey with his hands near his chest, balled into fists, his face red with fury. Tristan glared on next to Joey, and Tea was suddenly at Yugi's side pulling him away from the lockers.

"Don't you ever touch him again, ya asshole," Joey growled.

The gym coach was now running outside, whistle blaring. The situation took awhile to clear up. Both Joey and the bully received in-school detention, and this having been yet another offense on Joey's part, was warned that he would be suspended from school next time. Once they all got out of questioning in the principal's office, Yugi apologized over and over and over, feeling he was completely responsible.

"Yug, stop it all right?"

"But-"

"I said I would protect you, and I will."

"We all will," Tristan added.

Yugi sighed and was a bit surprised when Tea latched onto his arm and pulled him over to her.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, me and Yugi have some shopping to do," she said to the others.

"Oh," Yugi said. "That's right, um, listen Tea, can we reschedule? I really just want to see how Yami's doing. He had an interview over at Kaiba Corp. this morning, and-"

All three of his friends' eyes widened.

"K-Kaiba? Yug, Yug, Yug, you gotta be kidding...uh, right?" Joey sputtered.

Yugi shook his head. "Which is exactly why I want to go home and see how it went. The thought of Yami working for Kaiba, I, well I'll admit it, I don't like it. But we're out of options."

"Where da fuck is Kaiba today anyway? He thinks he can just miss school whenever he feels like it?"

"Well, heck, I would too if I could get away with it," Tristan said with a sigh. "Now we going over to Yugi's or what?"

Yugi smiled. "Yeah, let's go."

Tea released his arm and crossed her own. "Well, you do whatever you want, but I promised I'd get that baby some clothes, and I'm going to."

"Tea, Yami and I still aren't sure we're keeping it. Again, please don't. Wait till later, please," Yugi begged.

The brunette chuckled. "Fine, I'll only pick out a couple of things. It won't hurt to have a least a little bit in case you decide to, you know..."

Yugi gave Tea a weak smile, knowing he wasn't going to win this. The three waved as she turned and left, then proceeded out of the school and towards the Game Shop. They laughed about things the whole way there, and Yugi genuinely smiled the entire time, something he hadn't done often lately. When they arrived, Yugi couldn't help but run into his home, scanning the lower level for his darker half.

He found him sitting blankly at the kitchen table, and Yugi sighed, immediately taking his expression for bad news.

"Oh Yami, I'm so sorry…"

"Yugi-"

"Please, you're trying. It's not your fault. Please Yami, please don't-"

"Yugi, I-"

"We'll figure something out, we have to."

"Yugi!" Yami exclaimed, making his light jump and become silent. "I start Wednesday."

"Yami you can't blame yourself-Wait, what?!!"

"I start Wednesday. Kaiba hired me. Can you believe it?" Yami laughed as he rose from his chair.

"Oh Yami! I, I can't believe it!" he said as he ran into Yami's open arms. "I mean, I didn't think Kaiba would want…"

"I'll mostly be dueling against his software, testing it out for him while he's away on business. I didn't even speak with Kaiba today though. He was out on a business trip, but I interviewed with a couple of his company leaders and apparently he gave the go-ahead to hire me. I've landed something Yugi. That means we have a chance."

"But when I came in you looked so-"

Yami sighed, and clutched Yugi tighter. "Solomon's found some adoption couples he wants us to meet with soon. He's really pushing for it."

"Oh," Yugi sighed. "Right now, honestly though, I just don't know what to do. But you have a job now Yami. I'm so proud of you."

"Nice work man," Joey added as he stepped into the kitchen. "God knows I wouldn't have been hired by Kaiba."

Tristan laughed, and the whole kitchen burst into laughter soon after.

Hello Diary,

So guess what? Yami got hired!!! I know, I'm thrilled. Well, kinda. I'm not going to exactly be fond of him working with Kaiba, but ya know, what can you do. I feel like everything's going so fast. I'm getting this really awful feeling in my gut, like, like something's coming. Well, duh. Haha, the baby. And I'm not sure about the adoption couples Grandpa picked out. We're supposed to meet with them sometime soon, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. Part of me wants to listen to what they have to say, and part of me just wants to drive them away as soon as possible. And, hah, I know for sure Yami would prefer the latter. Well, these next few months are going to interesting. I'll be making some big choices...I'll keep you updated!

Until tomorrow,

Yugi Muto