Chapter Text
December 22nd, 2010
Seto drove home at a crawl that day, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror every few seconds. Shaye sat in the backseat of the black SUV, her arm reaching over into the rear-facing car seat next to her. It was far from the style of car he used to drive, but he’d made sure to get the best one money could buy. The best, and the safest.
There was a precious bundle curled up in that car seat, after all.
Shaye met his eyes in the mirror and she smiled. No less beautiful than when he’d first met her almost eight years ago. She looked more tired than usual, with bags under her eyes and her hair desperately needing a wash after being stuck in a hospital bed for two days. Despite that, her eyes still shone bright as starlight, affixing him with a knowing sparkle that shot through the reflection straight into the center of his chest.
Not that he looked any better. His shadows were darker than hers. There’d been at least one night when he hadn’t been able to sleep at all, on his feet every hour or so to silently pad over to the hospital’s cradle and lay his hand over a tiny chest, desperate to feel the gentle rise and fall.
There was a line of cars outside the manor when he pulled up. Seto heaved an annoyed sigh as he put the truck in park and turned it off.
Shaye unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward to put her hand on his shoulder. “We can tell them to leave.”
He took her hand and pressed his lips to her fingers. “Let’s just get it over with. Mokuba won’t let me hear the end of it if I don’t let him see her.”
She chuckled and opened her door. “You’re the boss.”
He followed suit, climbed out, and went to help her down. “I hope you don’t just mean that literally.”
“Maybe.” She gave him a playful wink. “I’ll check once the six weeks are up. I’m more excited to get back to work. They’re putting that Sci-fi project on hold until I get off leave, but I wanna just dig my hands in.”
“You can still do some work while you're resting. I’ll set up the Holo Design station on the couch if you would like.”
“Thank you.” She grabbed her purse from the floorboard and slung it over her body. “I’m surprised you didn’t get a call from Crowler. He usually doesn’t go this long without giving you some kind of report.”
He scoffed and shut the doors. As if on cue, a team of house staff came out of the mansion to help, taking their bags and hauling them back inside.
“He knows better. And if he doesn’t, I have other options I could assign as Chancellor.”
She laughed. “Very dominating. I like it.”
She gave a soft peck to his lips before walking away to give instructions to their staff. The smirk he gave her retreating back was softer than it would have been long ago. He couldn’t help but marvel at her endurance, the strength it must have taken to bring eight pounds of new life into the world. Only two days later and she was already moving around, perhaps not as briskly as before. She still had a lot of healing to do and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to make that process as easy for her as possible.
With a faint smile, he went around to the passenger side, eyes glancing up the manor steps. A group waited for them in the wide doorway, all smiles and waves.
Yugi and Anzu. Their girls were two now, twins; one brown-haired like her mother and the other with blond bangs and dark hair hugging her head in jagged curls.
Jounouchi and Mai, their boy around the same age as the other two. He gripped his father’s pants leg in both hands, hiding behind him and staring warily out at the activity below through thick blond hair.
Mokuba and Shizuka. Still just dating. Still taking their time. It was no surprise. With the long history of animosity between their brothers, they wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be a problem if the two of them ended up in-laws. This year would be their year, with any luck.
Seto sure hoped so, judging from the hours-long trips he’d taken with his little brother to this jewelry shop and that boutique, determined to find just the right one.
As his staff scurried about, he went around to the passenger side and opened the door. The zipper of the car seat cover was still open a crack where Shaye had her hand inside, no doubt holding a tiny fist or a pacifier in place. He took the pull in hand, intending to close it against the winter chill, but he couldn’t help himself.
He had to check.
He leaned into the cabin, opened the cover, and peered in one more time.
A tiny squished face peeked out from a bright blue dragon onesie, locks of brown hair sticking out from under the hood. Tiny wrinkled fingers gripped the soft fabric, flexing as the baby sucked on her pacifier. Seto smiled down at her, reached a hand in, and tucked her hair back.
Little eyes cracked open, still too underdeveloped to see, yet she seemed to seek him out anyway, fixing him with such a perplexed expression it made him chuckle. He eased one small fist up and placed his finger in her hand. She squeezed with surprising strength, and her dark blue eyes drifted closed again.
“Welcome home, Sachiko,” he whispered.
The End