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Fruit Cocktail and Cottage Cheese – Chapter 2
VII
He'd only agreed to go to stop Yugi's pleading. After all, he's already disappointed his twin enough by becoming too useless to compete anymore. Despite the reassuring hugs and words of affection, he knows that Yugi is terribly disappointed and angry with him. So are Hiroto, Mai, Otogi, Anzu and his father. Why else would they have stopped speaking to him once he became an alternate for Worlds? Yugi's only reason for coming by was probably to report how bad he's gotten. After all, Yugi hadn't wanted anything to do with him just before Worlds either. Why else would he come around except to remind Yami with his presence how disappointed he is?
As much as he loves his twin, Yami hates Yugi's random visits and his insistence on leaving the apartment. At least once a week, Yugi suggests 'an outing' or 'a visit'. What is there out in the world that means anything to him now?
The only thing he's ever excelled in, he can't do any more.
His family and friends are ashamed of him.
He's lost Seto and Mokuba…
Even after several months, the pain is still fresh in his heart. The notes helped him feel better because they helped him remember happy times. But Yugi kept throwing them away. He thought he'd be left alone after that whole fiasco with the shrink, so he'd started writing them again. To his dismay, Yugi's random visits continued and his twin went back to throwing away his notes. In response, he began putting the notes where Yugi wouldn't find them.
Now after his brother goes home for the night and on the days that Yugi doesn't come by, he takes the notes out and reads them. Remembering his life with Seto and Mokuba always makes him feel better for a while.
Suddenly he realizes that he doesn't have any of his notes with him. He can't write them at Yugi's house because his brother would just throw them away. Maybe if he honestly apologizes for being such a disappointment, Yugi won't throw away his notes.
"I'm sorry," he says sincerely.
"Sorry for what, Yami?" His brother glances at him as they ride down the road.
"I let everyone down. I'm sorry," he murmurs.
"You didn't, Yami. We're all just worried about you," Yugi replies, sounding so sincere that Yami almost believes him. If what Yugi professes were true, then Yami would have had more than just his twin dropping by his apartment over the last few months. If what Yugi said was true, then Seto…
"Not all," he whispers sadly, his comment drowned out by the beat of loud music from a car easing up beside them.
Yugi says something about not being able to hear him over the music as they come to a stop at a red light. The car breezes through the light and is immediately pulled over. Yami barely hears his brother gloating beside him as he realizes that he's not going to be able to stay overnight with Yugi. He needs to be home. He has to get back home!
"I can't do this," Yami mumbles, clenching his hands in his lap.
"What do you mean, Yami?"
He hears the worry in Yugi's voice, but it doesn't matter. He can't do this. He has to go back home. There's nothing out here for him, no one out here for him. At least at home, he can read his notes and remember. Maybe Yugi won't throw them away anymore if he can explain why he writes them.
But first he has to get home!
Hopping out of the car, he darts through traffic toward the sidewalk to walk home, ignoring Yugi's frantic cries behind him.
A particularly loud horn draws his attention and he momentarily looks away from his immediate destination.
VIII
"Excuse me, Mr. Kaiba," his secretary interrupts.
Seto turns away from the potential client's presentation with a glare.
"I believe I asked not to be disturbed," he growls.
"I know, sir," she nods, "but it's an emergency."
"It had better be," he snarls, following the woman. "I'll be with you in a moment, Mr. Kane," he tosses over his shoulder tersely.
"What is it?" he snaps once the door to his conference room closes behind him.
"You have a call from Domino Memorial Hospital," she replies quickly, handing him his cordless headset.
Eyes momentarily wide with shock, he clears his throat before putting the phone to his ear.
"Kaiba!" he barks authoritatively.
"Mr. Kaiba," a soft feminine voice begins, "I'm sorry to disturb you at work, but since you are listed as next of kin, we need your authorization to perform the surgery."
"Surgery? What happened to my son and why the hell am I just finding out now?" he exclaims.
Turning to his secretary, eyes blazing with fury, he screams at her, "Why the hell didn't you tell me?!"
Dropping the phone, he grabs his car keys and storms out of his office, grumbling about incompetent employees, ignoring his secretary's attempt to explain.
"Wait! Mr. Kaiba, you don't understand," she calls as the doors to his private elevator close.
He understood all right. He understood that she'd be fired as soon as he knows what is happening with Mokuba.
Gods! Surgery!
All kinds of worst-case scenarios run through his head as he peals out of the garage on the way to Domino Memorial. Angrily, he whips out his cell and calls Mokuba's school.
"This is Seto Kaiba. What the fuck happened to my son?" he screams at the school's receptionist.
"S-sir?" she stutters. "I don't know what--"
"Why the fuck is he in the hospital about to have surgery and no one called me?" he roars.
"M-Mr. Kaiba, sir," the woman responds timidly, "as far as I know, Mokuba is still in class."
"What?"
"I can pull him out if you'd like," she offers pleadingly.
"You do that," he growls. "I'll be there in ten minutes."
Snapping the phone shut, he makes an illegal u-turn and screams down the road toward Mokuba's school.
If nothing was wrong with Mokuba, then why would the hospital…? Unless…
Angrily he glowers at the thought that crosses his mind; this is someone's idea of a joke. He'll find out who pulled such a vicious prank and make them pay dearly.
As soon as he's sure that Mokuba's okay.
Slamming to a stop in front of the school, he sees a wide-eyed Mokuba at the front door standing next to the principal. With no memory of how he got there, he finds himself kneeling on the sidewalk, arms wrapped tightly around his son.
"D-daddy?" Mokuba ventures, lightly touching Seto's head with a trembling hand. "What's wrong, daddy?"
Realizing that his behavior is frightening Mokuba, Seto lets him go, standing up shakily.
"It's all right, Mokuba," he soothes, voice slightly unsteady.
He had meant to be calm and composed when he saw that his son was okay, but at the thought of Mokuba being badly hurt, an uncontrollable fear had overtaken him.
"Daddy?" Those blue-grey orbs eye him warily.
"How about we go get some ice cream?" He smiles, ruffling Mokuba's wild, black mane.
"Yay!" Mokuba exclaims.
"He'll be back tomorrow." He nods to the principal, narrowing his eyes slightly to say he expects silence about his uncharacteristic display.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba. I'll have his teacher put away his things until tomorrow."
"Fine."
Taking Mokuba's hand, they are almost back to Seto's car when his cellphone rings.
"Kaiba!" he barks, annoyed at someone spoiling this private time with his son.
"I'm sorry to bother you again, Mr. Kaiba," his secretary begins, "but the hospital is insisting on your authorization to perform the surgery. They say that they need to check for internal bleeding."
Seto narrows his eyes in anger as he buckles Mokuba in.
"Tell whomever it is to fuck off!" he yells. "Mokuba is fine! Whatever satisfaction they were hoping for, they'll have to find elsewhere. And tell them that I'll pay them back for this when I find them!"
'And I will find them,' he vows.
"But sir, that's what I was trying to tell you," she calls frantically into the phone. "They aren't calling about Mokuba; it's about Mr. Motou, sir!"
Luckily for Seto, he's in the front seat when he drops the cell phone.
IX
They've been at Domino Memorial Hospital before for Yami, but it was always because of something related to gymnastics. Well, except that one time when Hiroto pushed Yami off the swing for calling him a baby. Somehow Yami broke a finger when he tumbled to a stop on the ground. But still it was nothing serious. Nothing like this!
"It's all my fault," Yugi mumbles as he paces.
"Calm down, Yugi," his father soothes. "It's not your fault. Yami ran out into the street on his own."
"That's not what I'm talking about, Dad!" Yugi yells. "I shouldn't have made him leave the apartment! I should have just left him there and…and…"
"And what, Yugi," Anzu interjects, Hiroto leaning against her quietly. "He needed to get out of there and get on with his life."
"What life?" Yugi yells louder. "His gymnastics career is practically destroyed, most of his endorsement contracts have dropped him and he's lost the love of his life! Tell me, Anzu, what should he be 'getting on' with?"
"That's enough, Yugi," his father admonishes sharply. "It's not Anzu's fault."
"Isn't it?" Yugi sneers, narrowing his eyes at her and his brother. Before any of them can respond, the ER doctor comes out to speak with them.
"How is he?" Yugi questions frantically.
"Well, there seems to be no head trauma," she states, earning a round of relieved sighs. "However, based on my examination, I suspect there may be some internal bleeding."
"Is there anything you can do?" his father questions worriedly.
"We need to go in to confirm and possibly repair any damage, but we need a consent signature or verbal approval from his next of kin."
"I'll sign anything you need me to," his father asserts.
"I understand that, Mr. Motou, but that wouldn't help."
"Why not?" Mai pipes up. "Obviously his father is his next of kin since he has no children and he isn't married!"
"Normally, that would be the case," Dr. Tsuki nods to them, "but your son has specifically designated someone as his next of kin and that's whose consent we'll need. A nurse has been attempting to make contact with the individual."
"Someone other than Dad or me?" Yugi frowns. "Who?"
Just then, a commotion at the emergency desk behind them draws everyone's attention.
"Who the fuck is in charge here and where the hell is Yami?" Seto bellows, Mokuba clinging to his hand.
X
An invisible line of alliance has been drawn in the family waiting room near the operating room. On one side sits a scowling Seto. On the other sits a steely-eyed Hiroto Motou, a frowning Sugoroku Motou, a worried Anzu Mazaki and a sneering Mai Valentine. Missing at the moment are Yugi and Mokuba, who had been sitting with Seto until Mokuba complained about being hungry and needing to use the bathroom. Yugi had quickly volunteered to take him, not wanting Seto to be absent in case his consent was needed for anything else.
"It's your fault, you know," Mai snips at Seto. "If you hadn't dumped him, none of this would have happened!"
"Mai!" Anzu exclaims.
"What? It's the truth and you know it! So does he, that's why he's not denying it!" Mai asserts.
Seto stares at Yami's 'family'. Mai spoke the truth, but only partially. Before, Seto hadn't understood Yami's subtle belittling statements and why he'd not defended him against his family's attacks on his character. Now, after spending the better part of three hours with these openly hostile assholes, he understands Yami's erratic behavior.
As important as they know family to be to Yami, how dare they make him choose between potentially life-long love and them?
Of course he couldn't make such a choice!
'So he did what they expected him to do,' Seto muses. 'He turned on me. But because his heart wasn't in it, he couldn't push me away completely.'
"Well, Kaiba, aren't you going to say anything?" Mai taunts.
Seto's already short fuse blows.
"Shut up, bitch!" he snaps, drawing gasps from all assembled. "If it wasn't for you assholes trying to force Yami to choose between his heart and his family, we'd never have been fighting in the first place!"
"What the hell do you know?" Hiroto screams, jumping up. "It's bad enough that he's a fag, but to be with you of all people…!"
More than Seto's shocked face stares at Hiroto as Yugi and Mokuba step in the door just as Yugi's younger brother stands.
"Y-you…I can't believe…" Anzu stutters, stunned by the revelation that her boyfriend is a homophobe.
She is further surprised by the nod of agreement from her best friend and the lack of admonishment from Mr. Motou . With a suppressed sob, she stumbles away from those who've been the most important in her life for the last several years, finding herself cradled in Yugi's arms as he stands beside Kaiba. It was one thing to want to steer Yami toward someone with a complementary education and background, but now she wonders if they weren't trying to sabotage his relationship with Kaiba simply because he was happy with his gay lover! Clinging to Yugi, she cries harder.
"Daddy, what's a 'fag,'" Mokuba questions innocently.
Reining in his temper, Seto smiles lightly at his son.
"We'll talk about it later, Mokuba," he promises. "Right now, let's just think about 'Daddy Yami' getting better, okay?"
The huge smile on his son's face when he uses Mokuba's special name for Yami is worth all the heartache of the prior few minutes. Turning to Hiroto, Mr. Motou and Mai, Seto makes a decision.
"Since it's quite obvious that none of you have Yami's best interest at heart, you should leave," Seto asserts.
"Now wait just a minute." Mr. Motou stands. "Yami is my son! And Hiroto's brother! You can't just kick us out!"
"I'm his next of kin." Seto glares dangerously. "So I can decide who stays and who goes. Now, get out before I have hospital security remove you."
"You wouldn't dare!" Hiroto yells.
"Try me," Seto hisses.
"Perhaps it's best that we step out for while," Mr. Motou suggests calmly. "We wouldn't want to jeopardize Yami's care with our arguing."
Hiroto, his anger barely held in check, nods his head in agreement.
"We'll be back, Kaiba," Hiroto growls.
"Come on, Anzu!" the angry brunette yells to his girlfriend.
A shake of her head is the only response he receives; she doesn't even turn to look at him.
Hiroto storms out of the room, rage rolling off of him in waves. His father and Mai follow quickly behind.
XI
Seto jerks awake when a hand lightly shakes his shoulder.
"Excuse me, Mr. Kaiba," the surgeon apologizes, "but I wanted to update you on Mr. Mouto's condition."
Straightening up from his slouch of sleep, he looks around for Mokuba. Catching sight of his son stretched out beside him covered in a light blanket, he returns his full attention back to the doctor.
Standing slowly, he suggests they talk outside the room since Mokuba isn't the only one asleep. He notes Anzu leaning on an equally asleep Yugi as he and the surgeon slip quietly out the door.
"So how is he?" Seto asks once they're a few feet into the hallway.
"He came out of the surgery with flying colors!" The doctor smiles.
A visible weight leaves Seto's shoulders and he slumps against a nearby wall in relief.
"We had to remove his ruptured spleen," she continues, "but I expect him to make a full recovery."
"Can I see him?" he questions with concern.
"Certainly! Follow me. He will be out another 15 minutes or so because of the anesthesia, so you won't be able to talk to him right away."
"That's fine," Seto replies calmly, feeling anything but that.
Stepping into the recovery room, he doesn't bother to hide his shock at the sight of his former love. Yami's once vibrant hair lay flat and dull around his bruised and pale face. Dark circles rim his sunken eyes and a large bandage lay across his forehead.
"Gods, Baby. What have you done to yourself?" he whispers.
Slipping into the chair next to the bed, he folds the pale hand not connected to the IV into both of his. With that touch, he knows he has to have Yami back in his life. After gazing at Yami's battered form for another few minutes, he lifts the pale hand to his lips to lightly kiss each fingertip.
"I've missed you so much, Baby," he confesses quietly.
"He's missed you too," Yugi interjects from the doorway.
Seto looks up at him sadly, too concerned about Yami to care about maintaining his mask of indifference.
"It's not your fault, Seto," Yugi begins as he moves toward Yami's prone form. "You were right that we shouldn't have pushed him so hard about you."
"I shouldn't have left him," Seto murmurs, tenderly running a finger down Yami's cheek.
"Seto…"
"Where's Mokuba?" he interrupts.
"He and Anzu are still asleep."
"Hn."
Carefully laying Yami's hand back on the bed, Seto stands to leave.
"Don't you want to be here when he wakes up?"
'More than anything,' he thinks, stroking the back of Yami's hand, 'But I don't trust Anzu like I trust you.'
"You're here, so he won't be alone," Seto replies. "I need to be with Mokuba. He'll want to know how 'Daddy Yami' is doing."
Leaving the twin to watch over his brother, Seto heads back to the waiting room. Opening the door, he finds Mokuba chatting happily with a sleepy looking Anzu.
"Daddy!" Mokuba exclaims, running into his father's waiting arms. Seto holds him close, using the moment with his son to soothe his nerves about Yami.
"Is 'Daddy Yami' okay?" Mokuba questions eagerly, in reaction to his father's obvious distress.
"He will be, Mokuba." Seto smiles lightly.
"Can I see him?" the seven-year-old gushes.
"He's asleep right now. Maybe later, okay?" Seto explains, sitting down on the cushioned seat and drawing Mokuba into his lap.
"Okay, Daddy!" He beams.
"I'm sorry," Anzu's voice intrudes gently.
Seto frowns at her, wondering why she's apologizing.
"I helped push Yami away from you and I'm sorry," she continues, eyes downcast. Seto reflects briefly on the timing of her confession.
"You didn't know how they felt," he states moments later.
"No! I could never have agreed with their position if I had," she admits.
"Why not?"
"Though I don't see them often, my cousin Mako and his partner Rex are very important people to me. Plus my mom and dad would disown me for associating with bigots of any kind. It's not how I was raised."
"Hn," Seto replies non-commitally. He believes her, but it will take more than such admissions for him to trust her.
"I can't believe they feel that way," Anzu continues sadly. "I'm sure Yami doesn't know. It would really hurt him. I don't think Yugi knew either."
"Neither does Otogi," Seto declares, mostly to himself, deciding to tell the closeted businessman at his first opportunity.
Seto had discovered the other's secret some weeks after announcing his own preferences. He'd stumbled upon Otogi and his partner sharing a passionate kiss in Otogi's private bathroom. Seto had decided to use said bathroom instead of one of the public ones during a networking dinner at Otogi's company headquarters. He'd been surprised by the scene and the wide-eyed panic on Otogi's face. After Otogi's partner, a tall blonde named Malik, had calmed Otogi down, the games-master had explained the situation.
Otogi's father is a raging homophobe who holds the majority of Otogi Black Crown company stock. Otogi would lose everything if his preference were known, so he has to keep his lover under wraps until his father dies. Seto understood and has kept his secret.
"How do you know that?" Anzu inserts into his reflection.
"I just do," he replies to her raised eyebrow.
Anzu is about to ask Seto what he means when Yugi practically slams open the waiting room door.
"He's awake!" Yugi imparts with a bright smile before retreating back to Yami's room.
Seto quietly hugs Mokuba to him.
"Why don't you go see him first, Seto?" Anzu suggests with a smile. "I know he'd be really glad to see you."
Seto returns her smile with a small one of his own, appreciative of the gesture.
"Can I go too, Daddy?" Mokuba pleads.
"Maybe later when he feels a little better," Seto soothes, lightly stroking his son's hair.
"I'll watch him for you," Anzu offers.
Seto pauses, still unsure of the brunette's loyalties and whether or not he can trust her, even for the few minutes it would take to switch places with Yugi.
"Go on, Daddy. I'll be fine," Mokuba smiles, seemingly reading Seto's mind.
Seto ponders whether to trust his son's judgment, as Mokuba's always been quite adept at reading people.
'He adored Yami, so why didn't I listen to him then?' Seto admonishes himself.
Deciding to follow his son's instincts, at least until he's switched places with Yugi, he's about to give Mokuba the standard speech about 'behaving while I'm gone' when the waiting room door swings open again.
Mr. Motou , Mai and Hiroto step inside, all three leveling nasty scowls at Seto.
"Kaiba, you bastard," Hiroto snarls. "You could have called us when Yami got out of surgery instead of letting us find out from the front desk nurse!"
"That would have been a positive gesture on your part, Kaiba," Mr. Motou agrees.
Kaiba glares at them both, furious at the accusation.
"Daddy, are you still going to go see 'Daddy Yami' now?" Mokuba inserts into the tense atmosphere.
Taking a calming breath, Seto smiles at his son.
"Let's let his family go see him first, Mokuba," he acquiesces.
"You haven't even seen him yet?" Mai questions incredulously.
"Of course he has!" Anzu defends angrily. "Yugi's just been with him for the last few minutes. And we didn't know he was out of surgery ourselves until the doctor told us no more than 20 minutes ago!" Unknowingly, her vehement defense greatly impresses Seto, earning her quite a bit of trust.
Ignoring Anzu's outburst, Mr. Motou turns back to Seto.
"Why didn't you just tell us that, Kaiba, instead of waiting for Anzu to defend you?" he snips.
'These people are unbelievable.' Seto smirks humorlessly.
"What's so fucking funny, Kaiba?" Hiroto yells.
"You self-righteous idiots are," Seto sneers, eyes narrowed dangerously. "And watch your language around my son."
"Fuck you, Kaiba!" Hiroto snarls.
Seto slides Mokuba from his lap as he rises to 'wash out' Hiroto's mouth.
Yugi pokes his head in the door just before things come to blows, his intent to prod Seto about visiting Yami while he's conscious. He catches Anzu stepping in front of an enraged Seto on one side of the room and his dad, his brother and Mai standing angrily on the other.
"What's going on?" he asks, fighting to keep his alarm at the scene out of his voice.
When none of them respond, he addresses one side directly.
"Hey Dad, Hiroto, Mai! When did you guys get here?" he questions, subtly trying to improve the mood with a light smile.
"Just after you came by," Anzu answers for them, throwing Yugi a look that says 'Get them out of here!'
Nodding imperceptibly in her direction, Yugi plasters his trademark grin on his face before addressing his dad, brother and Mai.
"Well Dad, why don't you guys come and see Yami now that he's awake?" He beams.
"That sounds like an excellent idea," Mr. Motou asserts, pulling a seething Hiroto out the door behind Yugi; if his father knows he's being manipulated, he shows no sign. Mai glares at Kaiba before following.
Seto retreats to a corner of the room, fighting to calm down as Anzu sits back down, pulling Mokuba onto the cushions beside her. The young boy's head hangs sadly.
"Mokuba? What's wrong?" Anzu initiates, noting his distress.
"W-why do they h-hate my daddy so much?" he sputters tearfully.
Seto is at his son's side in an instant, cradling the small form in his lap.
"Shh, Mokuba. Don't cry," he soothes.
Feeling uncomfortable at witnessing such a private moment, Anzu slips out to join the others in visiting Yami.
XII
Several soft kisses grace his fingertips.
"I've missed you so much, Baby."
He hears the voice as if it's traveling through water…
Seto?
Seto's here?
He fights his way conscious, feeling a hand on his as his eyes slowly open. Eager to confirm his vision, he turns toward the hand only to find the brother who throws away his notes instead of Seto.
Sadly, he turns away.
"You're awake!" his twin whispers excitedly. "How do you feel?"
Yami doesn't respond or turn back to face him.
"I guess you're still a little out of it," Yugi continues. "The doctor said you might be because of the anesthesia."
He pauses for a few moments, hoping Yami will at least look at him. The guilt about causing Yami to be hurt is bad enough. If his twin is so angry that he doesn't even want to look at him…
"I'm sorry, Yami," he murmurs. "I shouldn't have made you leave your apartment. You'd have never gotten hurt if…I'm really sorry, Yami," he chokes, eyes falling to his brother's hand as he clutches it tightly.
Feeling the radiating sorrow, Yami turns to his twin. Yugi's eyes snap to his, bright with unshed tears.
"You know I love you, Yami!" he gushes, the tears finally cascading down his face. "I'm so sorry for hurting you! I was just trying to help!"
"S'okay, Yugi. I unnerstan'", Yami breathes, offering a small smile to show his sincerity.
Yugi's head drops, his shoulders shaking with quiet sobs as he clings to Yami's hand.
"S'okay, Yugi," Yami murmurs entwining his fingers with his brother's in a gesture of understanding and forgiveness. He's never been able to handle Yugi's tears and he really does understand that Yugi wasn't trying to hurt him. Yugi would never deliberately hurt him.
"S'okay, Yugi," he whispers again.
After a few minutes, Yugi pulls himself together, grabbing tissues from the box nearby to wipe his face and blow his nose.
"Hey," Yugi begins falteringly, giving Yami a tentative smile, warmth settling in his heart as his twin answers with one of his own. "I've got some surprise visitors for you."
"Oh?" Yami murmurs, hoping that his earlier delusion about Seto wasn't a delusion at all.
"I'll be right back," Yugi grins, bouncing up from the chair next to the bed and out the door.
Yami closes his eyes with a sigh, awaiting his surprise visitors. A few minutes later, Yugi bounds back into the room.
"They'll be here soon!" his brother gushes.
After a few moments of silence, Yugi begins, chattering about inconsequential things to fill the time until Yami's surprise guests arrive. As 'soon' continues to stretch further out, Yugi stops talking and begins fidgeting nervously.
Jumping up with a clipped, "I'll be back," Yugi heads out of the room again.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Swiftly making his way to the waiting area, Yugi worries that Seto may be concerned with facing Yami after their bad break up. He plans to assure Seto that Yami would want to see him and Mokuba anyway. Opening the waiting room door, he is shocked to see Seto shaking with rage, and Mokuba peering warily from behind him.
"What's going on?" he frowns as Anzu steps in front of the obviously volatile brunette.
Following their line of sight, he sees his dad, his little brother and Mai on the other side of the room. Judging by the murderous glint in Hiroto's eyes and his dad and Mai's stiff and angry stances, he can guess what's happened.
Amiably, he greets his family and Mai, trying to think of a way to diffuse the situation. With Anzu's silent urging, he throws on his best smile and suggests they follow him to see his twin.
'I'm sure Yami wouldn't mind seeing them first,' he sighs to himself as they all head toward his brother's room.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
When his brother finally returns, Yami does his best to hide his crushing disappointment at the sight of his father, younger brother, and Mai.
"Hey, bro'," Hiroto greets, a tight, angry smile on his face; Yami's first clue that something is wrong.
"How are you feeling, Son?" his father inquires sincerely, a tightness to his tone and face.
"Okay," Yami imparts quietly, attempting to conceal his growing concern.
"What's the matter, Yami?" Mai smiles weakly as she takes Yugi's vacated seat, wrapping his free hand in both of hers.
"Just tired," he murmurs, stifling his alarm at the agitation in Mai's touch.
Looking around the room, he notes Yugi hanging back by the door and something else that's disturbing.
"Where's Anzu?" he questions lightly, noting the increased tension at the mention of Hiroto's girlfriend of over two years. Into the deafening silence, the door to his room opens again.
"Hey Yams!" Anzu greets with a strained grin.
"Hey yourself." He smiles back as she leans in for a kiss to his forehead.
He's absolutely certain something is wrong when Anzu steps back to stand beside Yugi instead of folding herself into Hiroto's arms like she usually does. That's also when he notes that his dad, Hiroto and Mai are making it a point not to even look at Yugi or Anzu. Something is very, very wrong.
"What's going on?" he murmurs with a frown. Fatigue and the medication start to overtake him again, and he fights to stay awake.
"See, I told you he'd notice," Yugi mumbles.
Anzu turns toward Yugi sharply.
"Yugi, you can't tell him!" she hisses.
"Tell me what?" Yami presses, fighting desperately to stay awake long enough to hear the answer.
"Hiroto and Anzu had a bad fight. I took her side and Dad and Mai took his," Yugi explains.
Yami feels himself slipping back into unconsciousness, his mind screaming at him to find out what Hiroto and Anzu fought about.
'It must be important because they never fight,' his increasingly fuzzy mind reminds him.
"Tired," is all he manages as his eyes slip closed.
"We'll see you later, Yami," his father promises, ushering everyone out of the room. "You just rest and get better."
"Sure," Yami slurs, already two-thirds asleep. By the time the door shuts behind them, he's in dreamland.
XIII
Seto doesn't know how long Anzu's been gone, but he realizes he and his son are alone once Mokuba stops crying.
'Fucking assholes,' he grumbles in his head.
He doesn't understand how Yami could have family and friends that nasty and still be so loving and generous, almost to a fault.
'Maybe he takes after his mother,' Seto surmises, suddenly realizing that he's never heard Yami mention her before, Yugi either. And considering how much both of them can talk, that's saying a lot.
It hits him like a sharp blow how much he misses Yami's voice.
How many nights had Yami soothed or calmed him by talking about the latest cooking show or the backstage soap opera of men's gymnastics? How many times had he fallen asleep listening to his love ramble on about lunch with his twin or something equally banal?
The migraine medication and sleeping pills that he hasn't been able to function without for the past three months had ceased being a part of his life for almost a year when he was with Yami. The snuggle of his son against his chest reminds him of Mokuba's perpetual smile has also been absent since 'Daddy Yami' hasn't been around.
"I've been such a fool," he murmurs, clutching his son tightly.
"Too tight, Daddy," Mokuba exclaims, squirming in his firm grip.
"Sorry, Mokuba," Seto apologizes, dropping his arms.
"Are you hungry?" he asks, realizing that is has to have been at least six hours since Yugi took Mokuba to the cafeteria.
"Yes, Daddy."
Deciding to leave Yami's family with him for a while, he grabs his suit jacket and Mokuba's coat to head out. He'll take his son to dinner and then home to get some proper sleep and then they'll come back to see Yami tomorrow.
Well, he'll bring Mokuba tomorrow. He'll be back tonight after Mokuba's asleep and he's left explicit instructions with the nanny to call him the instant Mokuba wakes. Just as they reach the door to the waiting room, it opens to reveal a scowling Hiroto.
"Running away like the coward you are, Kaiba?" Yami's youngest brother sneers at them.
Having reached the limits of his self-control some time ago, Seto responds with a powerful left hook, sending Hiroto sprawling back into the hall. As he storms off angrily with Mokuba in tow, he's surprised to find Yugi and Anzu following him instead of helping Mai and Mr. Motou with Hiroto.
Once they reach his car, Seto asks Yugi and Anzu why they're siding with him instead of their friends and family.
"Because we know that you have Yami's best interest at heart," Anzu replies.
"And because we want you to feed us," Yugi echoes beside her.
Mokuba giggles and Seto allows himself a small smile.
"Fine," he concedes. "We'll let Mokuba decide what we're eating."
"Ramen!" the seven-year-old shouts.
"Sounds good to me," Yugi grins as he and Anzu climb into the back seat.
After ramen with Mokuba, Anzu and Yugi, Seto drives back to the mansion and puts his son to bed. Once the on-call nanny arrives and has been given her instructions, Seto takes Anzu and Yugi with him back to the hospital.