Authoress here! Sorry this update is a day late, I entirely forgot about it yesterday!

I do NOT own YuGiOh!, please leave a review.

Chapter 3:

The Beginning of the Beginning

Yami had spent that night tossing and turning, his sleep fitful rather than peaceful. He slowly began to open up his eyes, glancing at the alarm clock. He gave a feeble groan, turning over and covering his head with his pillow in attempt to shut out reality.

It was seven o'clock in the morning, and he just knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. He didn't want to be up this early; in fact, it was even earlier than he had to get up for school in the mornings, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Going back to sleep would only upset his body and make him even more tired later in the day.

Promising himself that he'd take a nap later to make up for it, he threw the covers off of him and his feet gently touched the ground below them as he let out a yawn, stretching back his arms to loosen his muscles. He rubbed his eyes, hoping to get rid of the sleep that was clinging to his consciousness and attempting to force his mind back to the comfortable darkness.

Yami stood up, forcing his body to fight against gravity as he took a couple of clumsy steps into the bathroom. Unfortunately, he had a lot of caffeine in his system the night before, so he really needed to pee. After his business was done, (typical morning routine said now was the time to get changed, but he didn't feel like changing his clothes and he was in a hoodie, so he didn't think anyone was going to notice) he decided it was time to go and start the day.

Yami thought. Mai wasn't coming back to the hospital until eleven AM, so he didn't know what he would do until then. After a moment's deliberation, (and realizing that he wasn't hungry enough to eat breakfast yet) he decided that he would take a walk around the hospital, maybe stretch his legs a bit. He'd been getting lazier and lazier these last few months, and he knew that he should really at least try to keep himself in shape. Even if that only came from sprinting to class to make sure he was on time and occasional walks around the place.

He took a couple of steps down his usual route before deciding to change it up. He hadn't gone to the other side of the hospital in quite some time, and he knew that Cecelia would be there doing extra tutoring for those who needed it, so he figured that he might as well drop by and say hello. He started down in that direction, his eyes wandering around as they typically did when he was exploring.

It didn't take very long to get there; the hallways were mostly empty, and the hospital wasn't too large, so he knew his way around.

When he did get there, he saw a flurry of activity. There were kids running around, (kids that were typically supervised at this point in the day) and a nurse who looked like she was about to pull her hair out in stress, Yuugi sitting by her with a look of displeasure on his face. Yami wondered if it was because the kids were being loud.

The nurse's eyes lit up when she noticed him, and she waved him over. Yami did a quick check and saw that Cecelia was nowhere around; he figured that she'd taken the day off to spend with her husband, Pegasus. The nurse didn't look familiar, but he figured they must have interacted before, because she knew sign language.

"Listen, I've been told to take care of the kids and stay with Yuugi at the same time, I don't know how to do that. Do you think you could watch Yuugi for a few minutes?" She asked, her eyes pleading. Yami nodded his head yes immediately, happy at the opportunity to spend some time with the intriguing new kid. She breathed a sigh of relief, thanking him, before she walked over to Yuugi. He assumed that she was explaining what was happening to the object of his interest.

Yuugi nodded his head, but not until he crossed his arms over his chest and gave a pout. Yami wondered what he was upset with briefly before the nurse walked back over and grabbed Yami, dragging him over to the nearest table and sitting him down before grabbing Yuugi and placing him next to Yami. "Don't let him wander off. There are some braille books over there," She gestured towards the bin in the corner, "Made specifically for practice. I'll be back in about an hour, somebody else takes care of the kids by then. Or at least, I hope so." She said.

Yami nodded his head again, slightly dazed with how fast she was. Yuugi flinched as she opened her mouth and called something to the kids, so he figured that she had been loud. Well, whatever she had done, it had the proper effect, because the kids all lined up one by one to stand in front of her eagerly. She turned on a quick heel, children following behind her like she was a mother duckling and they were her flock. As the last kid left, he shook his head.

Taking another look around the waiting room, he found that they were entirely alone. He shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to do now.

Yuugi's hands came up to rest on the table, his fingers lightly skimming over the textured surface. Yami watched as he did, seeing nothing else to do. There were some children's things scattered over the table, and Yuugi's hands paused on top of a crayon box. Yami watched curiously as he felt around it, eventually opening it and letting the crayons spill out onto the table. Yuugi's face lit up like he'd just had a revelation, and he turned towards Yami.

Yami was on high alert now, curiosity burning in him. Yuugi put down the crayon he was holding and held up his hands, making a rectangle motion at Yami before pretending to shake it out. Yami tilted his head in confusion for a moment before he realized what Yuugi wanted.

Yami's head tilted to the side. Yuugi wanted paper? What for? Yuugi was blind, he wasn't going to be drawing any time soon. Well, at least, Yami didn't think so... Maybe he wanted to do some weird impressionist thing? Whatever it was, Yami wanted to find out.

He reached over to the far corner of the table, grabbing a couple of sheets of printer paper where it sat before gently pushing it in Yuugi's hands. He could see that Yuugi said "thank you" before turning back to the table and reaching back to the small pile of crayons, grabbing one and placing it to the paper as if he intended to draw. Yami leaned over a little bit closer, to where he could feel Yuugi's body heat radiating in between them, and he watched Yuugi's hand move.

Slowly, he began forming words along the paper. The handwriting was shaky and Yami didn't doubt that, had he switched lines, they would have been spaced carefully apart to avoid writing on top of the other words. Yuugi seemed like the kind of person who was careful.

"So I guess this is the part where I feel your face, huh?" Yuugi wrote. Yami stared at the paper, unsure what to make of it for a second, before he saw the faintest of smiles stretched across Yuugi's lips, as if he were trying to keep his humor dry. Yami realized then that he was joking, and he let an amused snort come out, knowing that Yuugi heard it when his small smile turned wide.

What kind of a person could joke around about something like this freely? He obviously wasn't having fun being blind, and Yami had seen plenty of people come in and grow bitter and angry due to their disabilities, turning colder and colder until eventually only people hired specifically to take care of them would. It was always sad to see those people coming in with their paid help, bags under their eyes, a bitterly sour expression on their face. But, then again, he'd seen a lot of people take it really well. Some of them had joked around about it, sure, but never just two weeks after it happened. A lot of people needed time to adjust before they could see the humor in things.

The fact that Yuugi had moved on so quickly was intriguing.

There was a pause as Yuugi scribbled little circles on the side of the paper, biting his lip as he thought of what to say. Yami watched him intensely as he thought, noting the smooth transition from thinking to the way he sat up a little taller and determination flickered across his features when he had something that he wanted to say. Yuugi put crayon to the paper again, slowly forming words below the ones above.

"Do you think there's any way we could talk? I'm bored right now." Yuugi said. Yami paused, his eyes flickering over to the braille books. Surely the nurse told Yuugi about them before she left? Maybe Yuugi just wanted to talk anyways; he could be missing human interaction. But how would they talk? It's not like Yami knew how to communicate. Yuugi could write and he could see it, but he couldn't write in braille (wouldn't he need wax on paper or something similar to do that? Would making dots on the paper be enough?) so Yuugi couldn't get his response.

Yami realized something then; Yuugi could recognize letters. Maybe, if he went slow enough and wrote large enough, Yuugi would be able to tell what he was writing if he lead Yuugi's hand along. But... He didn't know how Yuugi would react to somebody randomly grabbing his arm. Would he be alarmed? Yami looked around the room again. There wasn't anyone to go and fetch a nurse that was able to explain what he was trying to do, so Yuugi would be entirely in the dark. Well... Yami had two options: Ignore the question, or try his idea and hope that Yuugi didn't freak out.

He stood up, Yuugi's head tilting in confusion as he felt the slight rush of air and heard the shift. Yami slowly leaned down over him, placing his head on Yuugi's right shoulder as he reached down to slowly wrap Yuugi's hand in his own. Yuugi's cheeks turned a lovely pink color, but luckily for Yami, he waited to see what he was getting at before he tried to do anything stupid. Yami unwrapped Yuugi's hand from the writing utensil, blushing a bit himself, and he put his own hand down at the bottom before placing Yuugi's a couple of inches above his, both of their hands barely fitting on the waxy crayon. He started to move his hand, scribbling a little in the air first to make sure Yuugi was following.

He resisted a little at first, but soon enough, he relaxed. Yami smiled as he slowly put the crayon down to the paper, deciding that while using cursive would be nice, it would be better to just go with regular handwriting since so many people didn't know it. He formed the first large 'a', trying not to get distracted by Yuugi's back pressed up against his chest, and then moved on, the other letters flowing freely as Yuugi mouthed what they were (or maybe he actually said it; Yami couldn't know for sure).

At the end, Yami let go of the crayon and waited as Yuugi thought through what the word was, reforming the letters in his mind. Yami stayed close, his head not leaving Yuugi's shoulder as Yuugi placed the crayon to the paper, right below the space where Yami had written, 'age?' Yuugi smiled just a bit as he wrote his response down in neat numbers, but he didn't stop there.

"Seventeen. You are?" Yuugi wrote, smiling the slightest bit as he moved his hand automatically back up to the top of the crayon. Yami returned to his previous position with his hand.

Huh. It looked like he was wrong about Yuugi being younger than him.

"Seventeen." Yami wrote, before pausing. He wanted to think of something more he could ask Yuugi that was simple enough for him to understand what Yami was writing, but didn't seem like a cliché question or wasn't something too invasive.

"Favourite colour?" Yami asked, and he gave Yuugi a moment, knowing that it would take him a couple of seconds to put together what Yami had said. Yuugi seemed to have a pretty good idea of how to do this though, because he had an answer prepared much quicker than Yami would have expected.

"Red, really really deep red. You?" Yuugi wrote, then smoothly slid his hand the rest of the way up the crayon. Yami returned his hand, this time noticing that Yuugi leaned back into his touch. He wondered briefly if anyone had hugged him since he came here, or if he was craving human contact. Maybe Yuugi was just affectionate and he wanted to befriend Yami? That option didn't seem likely; he was blushing, if he was affectionate he'd be used to things like that. He was probably right on the first guess; he'd been starved of attention. Yami never had to deal with that, thanks to having first Anna and now Mai... though Mai wasn't very affectionate, and neither was he when it came down to it. He'd sort of missed human contact like this.

"I like them all." Yami wrote. He shifted his legs; he was tired of standing and didn't know how to continue his conversation with Yuugi really, so he figured it was time to sit down. He cursed the fact that he didn't have any way to talk to him, but there was really nothing that could be done about it, unless he learned how to speak and read lips.

He sat down next to Yuugi, missing the body heat they had momentarily shared. He thought back to what Mai had said to him just the day before, and suddenly he was happy that Yuugi couldn't see his blush. He slowly put his head down on the table, burying it in his arms as he resisted the urge to groan. He didn't want to think about that right now! He barely even knew the kid, what could he gain from having a crush?

He raised his head up just in time to see that Yuugi was writing again, his hand slowly forming words across the paper. It was almost full of words now, so Yami reached over to grab another piece as Yuugi set down the crayon and waited for Yami to read what he had wrote.

"Sorry if I seem a little hostile, I'm a bit annoyed that I have to be babysat twenty four hours a day." Yuugi had written. Yami could see his small frown, his eyes crinkling in the most peculiar way as he displayed his displeasure.

About his eyes... Most blind people Yami knew had their eyes opened. Yuugi had always had his eyes closed so far, not once opening them, even on instinct. He wondered why that was. Was there a reason as to why he felt like closing them? Were his eyes glass now and he was embarrassed? Did he not want people to see them because he didn't want them to be commented on? Did he just not use them because they were useless now? What did his eyes look like?

The questions swirled around in Yami's head, so much that he almost forgot that Yuugi had written anything on the paper at all. He pulled it together though, rereading Yuugi's response and them smiling. He made a sound to acknowledge it before he stood up and resumed his position behind Yuugi and grabbed the bottom of the crayon, feeling Yuugi's hand brushing against his as he wrote.

"No, you're nice." Yami wrote. He paused, giving a moment for Yuugi to digest what he had said before he continued, "They'll leave you alone soon."

Yuugi smiled and nuzzled back into Yami momentarily, humming his approval. Yami could feel Yuugi's sound vibrate against him and he pulled back a little in shock, finding the sensation a curious one. Is that what it felt like to speak, that light vibration going through your body? Nobody had really talked while touching him before, so he was slightly intrigued by the sensation.

"Thank you. I know once I learn to use a cane they'll stop." Yuugi wrote quickly. Yami nodded his head, unsure of how to respond. Actually, now that he thought of it, did he really have anything else to say? There wasn't much he could think to talk about when he wanted to keep his words short for the sake of Yuugi. He gave a sigh, not liking the limitations that came with both of them having disabilities. He supposed that there had to be a better way to work through it, but he was unsure of how to find it.

Suddenly, a pair of purple boots appeared in his line of vision, and he slowly looked up. He looked like a deer caught in headlights as Mai rose an eyebrow, clearly enjoying that she had new material to torment Yami with.

"Looks like you're having fun there. Do I need to give you two some alone time?" Mai asked. Yami blushed deeply and pulled away, shaking his head no fiercely.

"No! No! It's not like that. I was guiding his hand to write so he could tell what I was trying to say to him, that's it. I got put watching him because his nurse was asked to do that and take care of the kids, and she told me to make sure he didn't wander off and she left!" He said, backing up. Mai had a loom of utmost amusement on her face as she looked back and forth between the two, Yuugi turning around curiously, wondering why Yami had suddenly left.

"Oh, I'm sure you needed to be pressed up against him for that." Mai said, giving a small wink. "Don't worry, I know how it is." She said. Yami audibly groaned, putting his face in his hands and shaking his head.

"Yami?" Yuugi asked. Yami looked to Mai and gestured towards Yuugi, knowing that she would have to explain the situation to him, but also dreading what she would tell him.

Mai opened her mouth and said something to Yuugi, and Yami flinched.

"You better not have told him anything embarrassing. I swear we were just talking, Mai." Yami insisted. Mai looked up again, mischief in her eyes and a deadly smirk on her face.

"You're awfully defensive Yami. Are you sure you don't want to go ahead and admit to having a little crush? I think both of us would feel a lot better." Mai teased, winking.

"I'm going to kill you. Why are you even here this early?" Yami asked, trying to divert her attention. He took a few steps and sat back down by Yuugi, waiting patiently for Mai's answer.

"I decided to get some overtime. I want the puppy to have some chew toys. That, and I was going to spend some extra time with you. Looks like the position of your hangout buddy's been filled, though." Mai signed back, gesturing towards Yuugi. Yami shook his head, giving a deep sigh. He decided to let the comment go, hoping that they could just move on.

"Okay. Well, will you translate for us?" Yami asked. Mai nodded her head, grabbing the chair across the table from them and sitting down, leaning forward eagerly to inform Yuugi that she was going to translate.

"He wanted me to ask you how long you've been here. Should I give him the full story?" Mai asked. Yami paused briefly before nodding his head in consent.

Mai then proceeded to explain to Yuugi the entire ordeal- Yami's birth, his mother's abandonment, Anna's role as his mother, the hospital's reluctance to keep him, the decision finally being made, Mai's befriendment, and all leading up to Anna's death a couple of years ago including what's keeping him from learning to read lips. Yuugi continued to nod his head encouragingly through the entire story, and it drove Yami crazy that he couldn't know exactly what Mai was saying. He was constantly growling or fidgeting, the twenty minutes that the story took feeling like much longer to the impatient boy. Finally though, it was over, and Yuugi digested everything for a couple of minutes before he responded.

"That's cool. Sorry about Anna, but it sounds like you've had a pretty interesting life. I have a question, though. Are you planning on learning to read lips or speaking sometime before your birthday, or do you not want to take the risk?" Mai translated as Yuugi spoke, turning to Yami for the answer. Actually, even she herself didn't know the answer to this question, and Yami flinched at the expectant expression she was giving him.

Did he want to learn how? He'd made it through life thus far without it, so why would he unnecessarily change things now? Then again, he'd seen how inconvenient it had been for him in the past to not know what people were saying or how to get his message across, and it would be nerve-wracking to go out in the real world not only on his own, but on his own with limitations. He had money, but not enough to hire a translator. Hell, he couldn't even order his own coffee without Mai around to tell the cashier what he wanted. Sure he could write down his order and explain that he was deaf on paper, but he didn't want to look foolish or be looked down upon. Not only that, but he'd have trouble finding a job with the communication gap.

Then again, there were probably special deaf communities. He would imagine that they'd have a couple of jobs to give out, and he knew that he was a good enough worker to get one. Without Anna here to support him, it just didn't quite feel like he should learn. He'd always expected her guidance on when to take this step, whether or not to take this step, and if he did decide, her help along the way. Without her here, something about learning it just seemed forced. He wasn't sure if he would be able to do it and not quit halfway through.

All in all, he didn't know what to do right now and didn't have the information to properly decide.

"I'm honestly not sure." Yami said, biting his lip. "I have a lot of stuff to think about when it comes to that."

Mai quickly translated before turning back to Yami and giving Yuugi's reply of, "Well, when you have it figured out, you should tell me." and Yami nodded his head, thinking of what he could ask Yuugi.

"If you feel comfortable, would you mind telling me your life story? It's only fair, since you know mine." Yami signed. Mai translated and he nudged Yuugi to make sure he knew that Yami was joking; he didn't want to push the boy to do anything he didn't want to do, especially since the information itself would have to be passed on through Mai. Yuugi might not feel comfortable sharing.

Yuugi laughed, his body shaking lightly as he smiled, nodding his head yes. He began to tell Mai his story, and Yami could tell that Mai was interested from the way her eyes lit up in curiosity and she leaned forward, nodding her head every once in awhile. What was probably only a couple of minutes had felt like an entire lifetime to Yami, and he had to resist asking Mai to break it into pieces so he could just hear it already. Yuugi finally finished speaking and Mai turned to Yami, a small smile on her face.

"He was raised in a boarding school from the time he was small, because his parents were wealthy and busy and had nobody to take care of him. He's going to be at the hospital for quite some time since he doesn't know how to read braille or walk with a cane, coupled with the fact that they actually don't have any relatives they can trace back to him. He said that he had just convinced his parents a year ago to allow him to go to public school, and he was back home for what he thought was good. Unfortunately his parents dragged him out to go to a social event recently, and on the way there they were hit by a drunk driver." Mai said. Yami paused, trying not to feel too much pity. He knew that he always hated it when people pitied him, and he tried to give Yuugi the same courtesy up to a certain extent. Still, it had to suck having your parents killed only a year after being reunited with them, having escaped from a life of boarding school.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, it must suck." Yami signed, giving a sigh. Mai did her thing, and Yuugi shook his head no, surprisingly.

"I didn't get to know them very well. They were always away, we didn't spend much time together. I only really wanted to come home from boarding school to get the public school experience." Yuugi informed him. Mai finished translating and put her hands down, honestly sick of using them for this long. She needed a small break; both sides could be long winded.

It was then, though, that the other nurse came in. Her heels were clopping on the ground in time with her own set rhythm as she led the group of children back like a Shepard leading her herd. The kids filed in in a neat and orderly line before slowly dispersing, doing their own thing. Yami noted that they were considerably better behaved now, and most of them were yawning. The nurse walked over to the table where the three of them sat, turning first to Mai.

"You're the one who's going to take them to bed, correct? They're all ready to go, it should only take around twenty minutes." She said. Mai shook her head, and she turned towards Yami. "Thank you for helping with my patient, however, he needs to have a meeting with the doctor. So, if you'll excuse us..." She signed rather than spoke.

Yami felt his heart fall, giving a small frown at the situation. He really wanted to spend more time with Yuugi, but he knew that it was probably not the smartest idea to go against a nurse so determined. So, he nodded his head at her, intent on following her given instructions. Glancing at Yuugi, he signed, "Can you tell him that I said goodbye?"

She nodded her head before turning to Yuugi and saying something, and Yuugi visibly slumped. He slowly stood up too, using the chair for leverage as he went, keeping him rooted to the ground. He seemed to ask her something and she gave a respond, gesturing towards where Yami was on impulse. Yami tilted his head in confusion as Yuugi slowly turned in his direction.

Yuugi raised his arms to awkwardly wrap them around Yami's waist, hitting him from a bit of an angle. It was lacking grace, but Yami had the feeling that his hugs would be like this even if he could see. He was warm and soft, and it took Yami a moment to register that he should be hugging back, before he wrapped his arms around the smaller one's waist and drew him close. His head came to rest naturally slightly on top of Yuugi's, and he gave a small inhale. Yuugi smelled like vanilla.

Yuugi eventually pulled away and Yami let him, glancing up to see Mai staring knowingly and feeling his face go red. He patted Yuugi on the head and signed a last goodbye, even though he knew that Yuugi couldn't see it, before watching him turn with the nurse and leave.

"Why don't you wait in the break room? First, though, go get some coffee from the ER and bring it back; I'm in dire need of caffeine. I should be there soon." Mai said, taking out her purse and rummaging through it. Yami rolled his eyes as he waited patiently for Mai to find her money, chuckling softly when she finally came across her change purse and sheepishly handed him the money. He took off down the hallway, sparing one last glance over his shoulder at Mai wrangling up the rug rats before he headed down to the ER.

Pretty soon, he was waiting as instructed in the waiting room, the delicious scent of french vanilla tempting him to go ahead and take a sip. He ignored the temptation, thinking it rude to eat or drink before someone got there if you knew they were to be joining you shortly. Instead, he decided that he would spend his time dreading the moment Mai walked into the room. He had seen the way she quirked up her eyebrow as Yuugi hugged him earlier; he was fully expecting her to tease him relentlessly.

Soon enough, he snapped out of his thoughts as the doors opened and Mai practically danced in, a smile stretched across her face. She came to an abrupt halt in front of where Yami was sitting on the counter and put her hands on either side of his legs, sufficiently caging him in. This type of closeness would make a normal person uncomfortable, but by now Yami was used to Mai's lack of personal space boundaries; she was a little too tenacious sometimes.

She lifted her hands when she was certain that Yami wouldn't escape the conversation, smirking as she signed out, "Well, it looks like someone has game. I didn't know you could be so flirtatious, Yami!" She said, her face lit up in a mixture of knowledge and attitude. Yami groaned and he let his face fall forward into his hands, shaking his head before looking up at the sky and wondering, Why me?

"I didn't flirt with him intentionally. If he took it that way then I'm sorry, but Mai, I'm not gay." He defended. Mai looked deeply into his eyes, and he was almost certain that she could see the uncertainty flickering in their depths. He wanted to convince her that he was straight, more than anything, to convince himself. He just didn't want to have to deal with the drama of discovering his sexuality so far; There is a time and a place for everything, and it's called college. He'd find out then.

"Okay, well even if you didn't intentionally flirt, I saw that blush when he hugged you. Even if you won't admit it to me, you're questioning your sexuality. If you're not, then you really should be, because I think you'd find that you're not as straight as you claim." She said, giving a sigh. She stepped back a little bit, allowing Yami his space. She was clearly giving him an opportunity for a subject change, but she looked disappointed. He tried to reverse the situation.

Okay, she had just come out of the closet to him as bisexual the other day. She clearly trusted him with all of her heart, and he tried his best to return the favor. She'd never told anyone any of his secrets, remaining loyal at all costs. He knew that if he had something personal to say, she would be able to keep it between them no matter what. So, to her, Yami not opening up to her about this was probably a big deal. She was probably hurt that he didn't trust her enough to talk with her about it, and she just might have some useful information to help him draw his conclusion.

"Mai... Okay, fine. Why don't you tell me how I would know if I were gay?" Yami asked, relenting. He knew he would hurt her if he wasn't honest, and this would be the best way to admit that he might be questioning. Mai paused, thinking for a moment.

"Well, honestly, more than anything you just think something's a little... off. Can you see yourself being with a woman?" She questioned. Yami froze, a blush growing on his face as he thought back to the picket-fence life. He shook his head no, and Mai didn't miss a beat. "How about a man?"

Yami considered the option. Honestly, he couldn't see himself being attracted to any random guy, either. Any relationship where he would display attraction would be entirely unrealistic- the only people he was attracted to were famous. Well, except Yuugi. That wasn't something he was willing to admit right now though, even to himself. He needed to get his sexuality straightened out before he worried about whether or not he liked one specific person. One person didn't mean anything.

Yami eventually shook his head no. Holy Ra, how did he not realize this before? People walking on streets, people in magazines, even the people who seemed the most visually appealing and were standing right in front of him didn't specifically hold appeal. What if... What if he just didn't like anyone? Yami didn't want to be alone forever!

"No." Yami signed defeatedly. His lips pursing into a grim line. "There are a couple of actors or actresses I like I guess, but that's entirely unrealistic." He insisted. Mai, instead of looking confused or disappointed like he would have expected, gave a small smile and nodded her head like it was a good thing. Yami tilted his head in confusion.

"You know Yami, there are other options besides straight, gay, and bisexual." She said wisely, backing up a little and letting her butt lean against the table so she didn't have to continue standing, "There's also pansexual, asexual, and some people don't fit into anything at all."

"What are those? Isn't asexual when an organism reproduces with itself?" Yami questioned. Mai laughed, shaking her head no.

"Of course not, that's ridiculous. I mean, I guess it's that too, but that's not how it's applied to humans, Yami." She said, her eyes sparkling with humor as she teasingly scolded him. "Asexuality is defined differently by different people, but essentially it's where you don't get attracted to boys or girls. A lot of asexual people are attracted to someone from their personality, and they choose to build the relationship off of that instead. Actually, some asexual people even feel sexual desires for their partner's bodies after they've formed the emotional bond- mainly stemming from the want to please. I think there might be a separate name for that, though. Demisexual, I think it was? Well, anyways, pansexual is sort of like asexual in the way that you bond with someone and that's where your relationship stems from, but pansexuals do actually have a sexual orientation- most choose to disregard it. Though again, a lot of people define it differently and you can't hold anybody who identifies as either to either definition. For example, some asexual people never want intimacy, and some even don't see the appeal in just an emotional relationship. So it's more of a spectrum than absolute definitions." She explains. Some times she looked like she was struggling to find the right words, but she had explained it fairly well for Yami's limited knowledge on the topic. He had to admit that his head was spinning, though.

"Wow, that's... A lot to take in." He said, his eyes widening. He leaned back against the cabinet, taking a sip of his coffee. It had finally cooled down to just the right temperature, so he lifted it to his lips and started to practically chug the stuff. He honestly needed some time to clear his head from all this mess, and some time to think through it all. There was a lot to consider when it came to things like this.

"So, there are people who don't identify at all? What does that mean, they just don't date?" Yami asked, trying to clarify some things. Mai had done a good job, but there were still a few holes and gaps that left him curious about the whole thing. Honestly, the closest thing he'd heard so far to him would be asexual, not attracted to either sexes. Then again, he had never really formed a real emotional bond with somebody, so he wasn't sure if the... What was it? Demisexual, he wasn't sure if that applied to him.

Well, he knew that he would be okay with... intimacy, but he didn't find himself craving for another person's body. Again, he hadn't explored demisexual yet, (and wasn't able to at the moment, he didn't have anyone whom he could test that one on) but asexual was sounding closest right now. The idea of touching and being touched was appealing- but not for what was on the other person's body, more to give and receive pleasure. So... asexual, then? Maybe.

"No no no! I had a girlfriend who didn't identify once actually. We didn't last long, she was nice but I had a lot going on at the time and getting into something as serious as she was looking for would not have been good. She dated around a lot- she just didn't feel like her sexuality really and truly had a definition. She thought it was stupid to use a word to define yourself, so she didn't. If she liked someone, she went after them, end of story." Mai elaborated.

There was a pause as Yami mulled this over, deep in thought. After all, there was a lot to think about.

"You still feel like you're straight?" Mai asked, quirking her eyebrow. Her small smile and sure posture showed that she already knew the answer to the question before she had asked it, but she had to ask anyways, to confirm her suspicions. Yami gave a deep sigh, knowing that he couldn't lie to her at this point even if he wanted to. He was afraid of telling her anything, because telling people felt like it was a sure ending, like he could never go back if it turned out he was straight. He knew Mai would never hold it against him if it turned out that he wasn't, though, and he just had to reassure himself of that.

"No, not really. I have a lot to sort through." He said, shaking his head. He avoided eye contact, not wanting to see her sure expression unwavering like he knew it would be. Mai just knew things sometimes, and he guessed that this was just one of those. He was glad it was her and not somebody else.

"I bet that Yuugi can help you sort through them." She teased. Yami's face went bright red again, and he shook his head.

"Stop it, even if I did like him, he's probably straight." Yami argued, wanting the teasing to stop. Yuugi really was adorable, and he smelled good, and Yami liked what little talking they could do together, but he didn't want to develop a crush, and certainly not on somebody he just met. He didn't need to be getting attached right now, especially to somebody he could hardly even talk to.

"No he's not." Mai said, smirk turning into a broad smile. Yami saw the usual glint of mischief in her eyes, and he froze.

"How do you know?" He asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. Mai looked up at the ceiling innocently and she twirled a strand of hair in between her fingers, as if she was trying to remember something but couldn't quite grasp it. Her eyes finally lit up in faux memory, her hands jumping forward to tell the story,

"Because I talked to him yesterday, when you thought I'd already left. We were having a casual conversation and I worked it in. I was actually highly subtle compared to what I could have done. He's gay though, so you don't have to worry. If you like him, he's a possibility." Mai said, giving a small wink. Yami shook his head back and forth, not believing the gall that she had. He would never have the tenacity it would take to ask somebody he'd just met their sexual orientation; that seemed like information you let somebody else offer up. He couldn't really complain though, because as long as she hadn't been rude, everything was okay and he now had the little tidbit of information.

"Just because he's gay doesn't mean he'd like me." Yami signed, then looked down at his feet. Mai clicked her tongue, shaking her head back and forth.

"Yami, you have one of the best personalities I've ever experienced. I'm incredibly proud to call you my friend. Maybe you're right and he wouldn't like you, but honestly, I highly doubt that's a possibility. He told me himself he values kindness above all else in a relationship, and you're the kindest person I know. Even if he didn't end up falling for you, it would be a shame to waste the opportunity." She said. Yami shook his head again.

"Yeah, he's cute and nice, but I don't really know him. We can't even talk, Mai. In case you haven't noticed, he's blind and I'm deaf. There's just some stuff that you can't relay through guiding someone's hand to write things down. I just don't understand how it could work." He signed frustratedly, before tucking his hands back under his arms. There, he admitted it.

"You and I both know you'd find a way to work around that if you wanted to. You've never let your disability stop you before, and I don't see why you'd start now." Mai said calmly. Yami felt the tension starting to drain from him now that his feelings were out, and he found that what Mai said had made sense. He could think of another way already, it's just... He didn't know if he could do it. Learning to speak would be a huge thing to do, he didn't want somebody who could end up hating him to influence the decision. "Besides, even if you don't, you and I both know that there are other ways to communicate than just through words. Trust me, you don't need to speak to each other to fall in love."

Yami nodded his head, watching Mai jump in surprise as her watch alarm began to go off. Mai lifted it and looked at the numbers, giving a soft groan as she realized that her break was most definitely over. As much as she'd like to continue the conversation with Yami, she knew there wasn't much more to say, and now she had to go. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulders, grabbing her papers and shoving them in before turning to Yami for her goodbye.

"I'll see you at lunch. My break is over." She informed him. Yami nodded and she walked briskly out the door, greeting a couple of other nurses by sign language on accident, forgetting momentarily to switch over. Yami gave a chuckle at her smooth recovery, watching as she raised the hand previously signing and used it to scratch her head instead.

Yami felt exhaustion go through him, seeming to soak into his very bones. He had been awake long enough, and it was only nine thirty in the first place. Hopping off of the counter, he decided that he very much deserved a nap right about now, taking a break from all the questions swirling in his head.

Yeah, he definitely deserved a nap.