~~I'm ending it here with a positive little quick ending... i love these morons. truly i do, but they are chaos magnets and this just feels like something that would happen to them. so i wrote it.~~~

Yugi P.O.V.

5 AM Wake-Up Call

Yugi groaned, burrowing deeper into his blankets in a desperate attempt to ignore the incessant bing, bing, bing! of his phone.

His body ached—exhaustion sinking into his very bones after the last forty-eight hours had flipped his world upside down. He hadn't even meant to sleep this long, but the sheer emotional and physical drain of everything had knocked him out cold the moment he'd collapsed into bed.

But now, at the crack of dawn, his phone would not shut up.

With an irritated grumble, he flailed blindly for it, grabbing the device with sluggish fingers and squinting at the screen through sleep-blurred vision. The group chat was blowing up.

At first, his brain refused to process what he was looking at, scrolling further and further up the messages with increasing confusion. Then, as it finally clicked, his stomach twisted into a guilty knot.

They'd been worried. Really worried.

48hrs ago:

Anzu: Anyone want to meet up at the theater?

Honda: I'm always up for a movie.

Jounouchi: Ugh. I have work. Enjoy.

Bakura: I'd love to! What time were you thinking?

Anzu: I get off at 2pm for once, I was thinking we could meet at 4ish?

Honda: Sounds good to me, dude.

Bakura: Works for me too.

24hrs ago:

Anzu: Has anyone heard from Yugi?

Jounouchi: Weird message to send to the group chat, Anzu. But no, I haven't.

Honda: Me either—maybe he'll respond if he sees it though.

Anzu: That's why I sent it here. It was weird when he didn't respond about the movie.

Bakura: I haven't heard from him either, guys… I hope he's alright.

Honda: Now that you mention it, Atem hasn't responded either… I don't like this.

Anzu: Me either.

Jounouchi: That makes three of us.

Bakura: Make that four… he has to be getting the notifications, right?

12hrs ago:

Anzu: Still nothing from Yugi or Atem.

Jounouchi: If he ain't responded by tomorrow morning, I'm gonna go by after work.

Honda: Me too, dude. This is bizarre for Yugi.

Bakura: I hope they're both okay.

Anzu: I think we all do, Bakura.

5 minutes ago:

Anzu: Hey Yugi, you and Atem okay?

Honda: Yeah man, we haven't heard from you in a bit.

Jounouchi: Dude, look at the damned phone! You're freaking us all out.

Bakura: What's with the radio silence, Yugi? Is everything okay?

Yugi stared at the messages, his exhausted brain struggling to figure out where to even begin.

He hadn't intentionally ignored them. He hadn't even realized he'd gone this long without responding—but now that he thought about it, his phone had been the absolute last thing on his mind.

Because holy shit, the last three days had been hell.

He sighed, rubbing his hands down his face before finally resigning himself to the inevitable. If he didn't explain now, they were absolutely going to start blowing up his phone with calls, and he just did not have the energy for that.

Cracking his stiff fingers, he started typing out what was probably the longest message of his entire life.

Yugi: Sorry guys. I didn't mean to go silent, but uh… things have been insane. Here's the short version:

• I just found out I'm a dad. Because apparently Atem has been hiding a pregnancy for the last eight months and didn't tell anyone.

• Atem went into labor in the middle of a KaibaCorp conference and had to be rushed to the hospital for an emergency C-section due to stress. (He and our daughter are fine, but he's been asleep for the last two days when I went to visit… We haven't named her yet. I didn't want to wake him up.)

• My Mom (Akari) and Grandpa and I signed restraining orders against my Dad (Hayate) because he was 99% of the reason Atem hid this in the first place. (He also got arrested after resisting the restraining order. So. That's a thing.)

Also, we're trying to rearrange the apartment right now to figure out where the hell we're going to put a crib because it turns out the place is tiny when you suddenly have a baby to factor into things.

He stared at the message for a long moment before sending it, wincing as soon as it went through.

That's going to be a nightmare to process.

He barely had time to blink before:

Jounouchi is typing…

Anzu is typing…

Honda is typing…

Bakura is typing…

Yugi groaned, flopping back onto his pillow.

Here we go.

Jounouchi: I AM GOING TO LOSE MY ENTIRE MIND.

Anzu: Yugi, you can't just drop that kind of news and expect us to be normal about it!

Honda: "My dad got arrested"—Yugi, what do you mean your dad got arrested. What did I miss. How is this getting worse.

Bakura: I swear to the gods, I am going to lie down on the floor and disassociate for a moment.

Jounouchi: YOU'RE A DAD.

Jounouchi: ATEM WAS PREGNANT.

Jounouchi: FOR EIGHT MONTHS.

Jounouchi: AND SAID NOTHING.

Jounouchi: WHAT THE HELL, MUTOU.

Yugi: Can we NOT do this at 5 AM.

Anzu: I think this warrants a 5 AM freakout!

Honda: No, because what do you MEAN Atem is an omega.

Bakura: I need a moment. I need a MOMENT.

Jounouchi: Your MOM KNEW?!

Yugi: Suspected. And she is kicking herself because she let it slip to my dad, which she definitely regrets now.

Yugi: Also, yes, she was flipping out when she found out she was a grandmother.

Yugi: Like, we literally had to make her sit down when she saw the baby.

Yugi: Meanwhile, my grandpa refuses to call her anything except "my granddaughter." He is delighted.

Jounouchi: OKAY, at least someone in your family has good sense.

Anzu: Oh my god. Yugi. How are you even FUNCTIONING right now?

Yugi: I am NOT. That's the secret.

Yugi: Atem hasn't even woken up yet. I have NO idea how he's going to react to all this when he does.

Honda: Dude, do you need help? We can come over.

Anzu: Yeah, Yugi, you shouldn't be dealing with this alone.

Bakura: We can bring food, help organize, anything.

Jounouchi: Just say the word. We got you.

Yugi exhaled slowly, tension unwinding just slightly at their sheer determination. He was still so damn tired, and the thought of what Atem would wake up to was overwhelming—but at least, at least he didn't have to handle it completely alone.

Yugi: …Thanks, guys.

Yugi: I'll let you know.

Yugi had barely stepped into the hospital room before the tension hit him like a physical force. Atem was sitting up in bed, looking as regal as one could while wrapped in a hospital blanket, his expression carefully composed—too composed.

Even before the door shut behind him, Yugi could feel the weight of everything left unsaid pressing down on them.

Atem's eyes flicked over him, sharp as ever, taking in his still-flushed face, the slight unsteadiness in his stance.

"You should be resting." Atem's voice was even, but there was an edge to it, one Yugi had learned to recognize over the years. Concern buried under stubbornness.

Yugi let out a breath, shaking his head as he stepped closer. "I'm fine."

Atem's gaze didn't waver. "You presented two days ago. You are not fine."

Yugi almost laughed, but there was too much frustration, too much emotion curling tight in his chest for it to come out right. "You're one to talk," he shot back. "You almost died, Atem. And no one told me. You didn't tell me."

Atem's grip tightened on the blanket. It was a subtle movement, but Yugi saw it.

The silence stretched. Atem's throat bobbed as he swallowed, his gaze shifting away for just a moment—like he was trying to find the right words, like he was calculating the best way to control the conversation.

Yugi didn't let him.

"I found out from Kaiba." Yugi's voice was quiet, but he saw the way Atem flinched. "I had to be dragged here by Roland because I didn't even know what was happening. Do you have any idea what that was like?"

Atem's jaw tightened. "I—"

"You were pregnant," Yugi interrupted, his voice cracking on the word. "For months. And you didn't tell me."

Atem finally looked at him again, and Yugi felt his breath catch. There was something raw in those crimson eyes, something barely held together.

"It wasn't—" Atem hesitated, inhaling sharply. "It wasn't because I didn't trust you."

Yugi's chest ached. "Then why?"

Atem looked away again, staring down at his lap like the answer was written in the folds of the hospital blanket. "…Because I was afraid."

Yugi's breath stuttered. He hadn't expected him to admit it so openly.

Atem took another breath, steadying himself. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter, more measured. "You presented two days ago."

Yugi blinked at the sudden shift. "What does that—"

"You don't know what it was like before that." Atem's fingers curled tighter into the fabric. "You don't know what it's like to be an unbonded omega, to be carrying a child without protection, without—" He cut himself off, exhaling sharply through his nose. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if you even…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "Hayate would have made my life hell if he knew. And I couldn't risk that. Not for myself, and certainly not for her."

Yugi's heart twisted. He wanted to be angry. He was angry. But more than that, he hurt for Atem, for everything he must have been carrying alone.

"Atem…" He stepped closer, hesitating only for a moment before he reached out, covering Atem's clenched hand with his own.

Atem stiffened—just slightly—but didn't pull away.

"I get it," Yugi said softly. "I don't like it, but I get it."

Atem's breath was shaky. His fingers, after a moment, loosened under Yugi's.

Yugi squeezed his hand gently. "But you're not alone anymore. You never were. And I swear to you, I'm not going anywhere."

Atem's throat bobbed, and for the first time since Yugi entered the room, something in his carefully constructed walls seemed to crack.

Yugi saw it. And he would be patient.

Because Atem wasn't the only one whose world had changed overnight. And they had time to figure it out together.

Yugi let the silence settle between them for a moment before he spoke again, his voice quieter but no less firm.

"Hayate is sitting in jail right now."

Atem's fingers twitched beneath his, but he didn't pull away.

"He violated the restraining orders—mine, Grandpa's, my mom's. He refused to stay away, and the second he stepped out of line, we made sure he was dealt with." Yugi's grip on Atem's hand tightened slightly. "He can't touch you, Atem. He won't."

Atem's breath hitched, but he kept his expression neutral—too neutral. His gaze flickered, searching Yugi's face for any sign of uncertainty, of hesitation. He wouldn't find any.

"Kaiba was—" Yugi huffed a tired breath, shaking his head. "Kaiba was pissed. More than pissed. He had to be talked out of making Hayate disappear."

Atem's lips parted slightly, crimson eyes widening in quiet surprise.

"And it wasn't just him," Yugi continued. "Jounouchi and Honda… The second I told them, they were ready to handle it themselves." He let out a humorless chuckle. "I think Jounouchi was five seconds away from grabbing a bat and bailing him out just so he could put him back in the hospital."

Atem exhaled sharply through his nose—something that could have been amusement, if not for the way his body remained tense, like he was bracing for something.

"…Why?" Atem finally asked, voice quieter than before.

Yugi frowned. "What do you mean, why?"

Atem's gaze dropped to where their hands were still touching. His fingers curled slightly under Yugi's, but he didn't pull away. "Why do you care so much?" His voice was steady, but there was something beneath it—something fragile, something vulnerable.

Yugi felt his heart clench.

"Because I love you, Atem."

Atem flinched. Just barely, but Yugi felt it.

Yugi swallowed past the lump in his throat and kept going. "Because you matter. Because you didn't deserve any of the shit he put you through, and neither does she." He exhaled, his thumb brushing lightly against Atem's knuckles. "Because you've spent so long trying to carry everything by yourself, and you don't have to anymore."

Atem's jaw tightened, and for a long moment, he didn't speak. His grip on Yugi's hand loosened, then tightened again, like he was fighting himself on whether or not to hold on.

Yugi didn't push. He just stayed there, grounding, steady, waiting.

Atem P.O.V.

Finally, Atem exhaled—a slow, measured breath—and when he looked back up, Yugi saw it again. The cracks in his walls. The pieces of himself he was afraid to show.

"…I don't know how to do this," Atem admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

Yugi's chest ached. "Then let's figure it out together."

Atem didn't answer right away, but after a moment, his fingers curled more fully around Yugi's hand.

It wasn't everything.

But it was a start.

Atem let out an inelegant snort—an undignified, very un-royal sound—before immediately wincing as a sharp pain lanced through his abdomen.

"Ah—!" He sucked in a breath, his free hand flying to his stomach as his body protested the sudden movement.

Yugi was on him in an instant, concern flashing across his face. "Atem—?"

"I'm fine—" Atem wheezed, though the tears prickling in the corners of his eyes betrayed him.

Yugi gave him an exasperated look, but his lips twitched upward. "Uh-huh. Sure you are."

Atem groaned, slumping back against the pillows. "It's not funny," he muttered.

Yugi arched a brow. "You're the one who just started laughing after abdominal surgery."

Atem pressed his lips together, determined not to let another ill-timed chuckle escape. "It's—ridiculous," he admitted, shaking his head. "All of it. Everything we've been through, and somehow we still manage to find more absurdity."

Yugi hummed in agreement, settling back in the chair beside the bed. "I mean, you did come back to life and immediately got pregnant. That's, like, next-level dramatic, even for us."

Atem groaned again, this time in pure mortification, and let his head fall back against the pillows. "I hate that you have a point," he muttered.

Yugi, still smirking, leaned in just a little. "Oh, I definitely have a point."

Atem squeezed his eyes shut. "We were drunk—"

"One time," Yugi finished for him, the teasing lilt in his voice unmistakable. "One. Single. Time."

Atem covered his face with his free hand, his ears burning. By Ra… Of all the things to come back to life for, this was his reality. He had ruled an empire, fought gods, sacrificed himself to seal away a great evil—and yet, apparently, the one time he lost control, the one reckless night they'd both decided to forget their burdens for a few short hours—

Yugi was practically vibrating with laughter now, though he was clearly trying to hold it in.

"This isn't exactly the way you saw your new life starting… is it?" Yugi coughed awkwardly, but there was no real judgment in his tone—just warmth, fondness, and maybe even a little amusement at how absurd the entire situation was.

Atem wanted to glare at him. He really did.

But then the sheer ridiculousness of it all hit him at once.

He was sitting in a hospital bed, sore and exhausted, his daughter safely down the hall in the NICU, Hayate in jail where he couldn't reach them, and Yugi—his Yugi—right there, looking at him with that impossible mix of exasperation, affection, and something Atem couldn't quite name but felt all the way to his bones.

It was so stupidly dramatic.

So much had happened. So much had changed.

And somehow, somehow, they were still here.

A breath of laughter escaped before he could stop it.

Then another.

And then he was laughing—real, full-bodied laughter, until his stitches hurt like hell and he was gasping through the pain, clutching his stomach and absolutely regretting every decision that led to this moment.

"Ra—" Atem wheezed, voice strained between choked laughter and actual agony. "It hurts—"

Yugi was immediately at his side, but he was laughing, too, even as he tried to steady Atem, gripping his arms like he could physically stop the pain. "Then stop laughing, you idiot!"

"I—can't!" Atem gasped, still shaking. "It's—so—stupid!"

Yugi groaned, torn between amusement and frustration. "Oh my god, Atem, breathe!"

Atem tried. He really did. But the sheer insanity of their lives, the impossible mess they always seemed to land themselves in—it was just too much.

And for the first time since he'd woken up in this hospital room, since he'd realized how utterly changed his life had become—

The laughter made it feel real.

The door opened, and the nurse—the same no-nonsense older woman who had been dealing with Atem earlier—stepped in, clipboard in hand. She took one look at them, Atem still breathless from laughter and Yugi half-collapsed against the hospital bed trying to steady him, and let out a relieved sigh.

"Well, that's a good sign," she said dryly, arching a brow. "I was half-expecting to walk in on another shouting match."

Yugi chuckled sheepishly, straightening up. "Ah, yeah… we had a moment."

Atem was still catching his breath, but he managed a lopsided smirk. "A moment of insanity—but yes, a moment."

The nurse snorted but didn't push for details. Instead, she glanced between them and then at her clipboard. "I came to check if you're ready to name your little girl yet."

That immediately pulled both of them back to reality.

Atem stiffened slightly, but Yugi reached for his hand again, squeezing gently. "I was actually about to bring that up," Yugi said, his voice softer now, more thoughtful. "I've been thinking about it, but I wanted to ask you first."

Atem blinked at him. "Ask me?"

Yugi nodded, glancing down at their hands. "I was thinking… Mana."

Atem's breath caught.

"She actually looks a lot like her," Yugi went on, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well—her hair's brown, like my mom's, but the shape of her face, the way she looked at me earlier—it just felt like her. And I thought… it might be a good way to honor her." He hesitated, glancing up at Atem's face. "But only if you're okay with it."

Atem stared at him, a thousand emotions crashing over him all at once.

Mana.

His best friend, his light, the girl who had been his shadow growing up—the girl who had stood beside him, fought for him, grieved for him when he was lost to the puzzle.

His throat went tight.

Yugi had noticed.

Yugi had looked at their daughter and seen her.

For a moment, Atem couldn't even speak. He swallowed hard, eyes stinging, and when he finally found his voice, it was barely above a whisper.

"…Yes."

Yugi's face softened.

Atem let out a slow breath, his grip tightening over Yugi's hand. "She… she would have loved that."

Yugi smiled, warm and certain. "Then it's settled."

The nurse nodded, scribbling something down on the clipboard. "Mana Mutou, then?"

Atem's breath hitched at that.

Mutou.

Yugi caught the look on his face, hesitating. "Unless…?"

Atem exhaled slowly. "No, I—" He shook his head, heart twisting. "I want her to have your name."

Yugi's grip on his hand tightened. "Are you sure?"

Atem swallowed around the lump in his throat. "Yes. You… you're her father. You found us. You protected us. She should have your name."

Yugi looked like he wanted to argue, but after a second, his expression softened. Instead of words, he lifted Atem's hand, pressing a kiss against his knuckles.

Atem let his eyes slip shut for a brief moment, steadying himself.

Mana Mutou.

His daughter.

Safe. Theirs.

And for the first time since this whirlwind began, the name settled something deep inside him.

Atem sat in the quiet of the hospital room, Yugi dozing lightly in the chair beside him, their fingers still loosely intertwined. Down the hall, their daughter—Mana—slept, small and new and perfect. It wasn't how he had imagined his return to life, not by any stretch of the imagination. It had been messy, chaotic, impossibly ridiculous. But then again, hadn't that always been their way? Twists of fate, impossible odds, battles fought with nothing but sheer will and the trust between them. Atem exhaled, the weight in his chest finally easing. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't predictable. But it was theirs. And for the first time in longer than he could remember, he knew—truly knew—that everything was going to be okay. The future stretched before them, uncertain but bright, and this time, this time, he would be physically there to see it.