To my Readers:

I am a supporter of gay marriage. While in this story I portray Yuma and Shark as a married gay couple, I wish to advise you that the story will have some content that is not okay to say to other people ((Ex: Hate slurs)). I do not wish to offend you if you choose to read this Sharkbaitshipping story.
With regards,
-bravebirdblaziken

UPDATE 1-27-14: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN REDONE A LITTLE. I ONLY CHANGED SOME DIOLOUGE AND ADDED A LITTLE MORE PARTS.

Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self.
-Viktor E. Frankl

Yuma fidgeted his fingers nervously on his lap, just staring directly at the wooden floor. He wasn't usually anxious most of the time and was often described as quirky, hyper, and quite ecstatic when it came to Dueling. Tapping his feet wasn't helping to ease his anxiety because it just made more noise his partner could not stand. Having enough of the noise, he finally spoke up to end the commotion.

"Can you stop tapping your feet? It's starting to annoy me. You know I don't like it when you repeatedly tap things over and over again," said Ryoga, a look of annoyance on his face.

"Oh, and just how am I supposed to stop being nervous about tonight? It's not like every dinner we've had with the relatives!" pouted Yuma.

"This is your family, our friends, and my sister we're talking about. Why are you getting so worked up?"

"Because everyone's coming over for dinner and I don't know how we're going to explain our announcement! How am I supposed to say it at the right time?" Yuma lowered his head into his hands, showing signs of frustration.

Ryoga wondered how his partner could be so thick-headed during some situations. He recalled that Yuma had a bad habit of forgetting things after he heard the story of him losing his Heart Piece before the World Duel Carnival finals. Then again, the younger man had always been like this.

"Look, trust me on this. Everything will be fine! All you need to do is not sputter anything until desert. The last thing we need is you revealing our announcement beforehand. Think you can do that?" said Ryoga, placing a hand onto Yuma's shoulder. He then caressed his partner's shoulders by gently massaging them. Yuma reacted by letting his body relax on the sofa. His head laid against Ryoga's chest, feeling some warmth being emitted.

Now that Yuma didn't feel so stressed, he moved his hands away from his face and sat upright into the sofa cushions. A sigh escaped. "What would I do without you, Shark? You're always here for me and haven't gotten up and abandoned me. Where would you be?"

"You're mine and I'm yours. I don't think I'll be leaving you anytime soon." Taking Yuma's hand into his own, Ryoga traced his index finger around Yuma's gold wedding ring he had given him. It felt smooth, but he felt a few scratches on the surface most likely from Direct Attacks during Duels. Looking at the ring made Ryoga think about their wedding. Like the ceremony, being married to the man he loved was one of the best moments of his life. Where else would their relationship take them?

Dinner went along with no issues at all. For once, Yuma actually managed to keep his cool about not blurting anything (Ryoga was relived at this). The couple had invited Yuma's family (including his parents, which reunited after the Barian Onslaught), Rio, and the Numbers Club, but they all politely declined. So, it was just the close family who was going to be the first to hear the "big announcement".

After everyone had finished eating their dinner and started to eat their dessert, Yuma and Ryoga agreed beforehand that it was time to make their debut. Ryoga raised a spoon with his hand and and gently tapped the glass to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone? Can I have your attention?" Ryoga requested.

All eyes turned towards the couple at the end of the table. Everyone quickly stopped talking to each other and immediately hushed because they sensed something important was about to happen. Now that all attention was focused on Yuma and Ryoga, both men looked directly at each other, nodding their heads.

It's time Yuma. This is it. There's no turning back.

Shark, I can't believe what we're about to tell everyone... I'm so glad I'm doing it with you.

Taking a huge breath, Yuma rose out of his chair, staring at his relatives, then towards Ryoga. The purple haired man flashed a little smile and nodded his head in approval to speak.

"Mom, Dad, Akari, Grandma, and Rio," he acknowledged. "Shark and I are really thankful you could make it tonight," said Yuma, a hint of pride in his voice. "You and the Numbers Club have always been here for us. You didn't judge us because we weren't with a girl, never tried to separate us, and always stood by our side. I used to be so worried neither of you would approve of our relationship because we were dating each other. I admit I wish our friends could be here, but I am glad you are all here, because the two of us have something to say to all of you." He gently nudged Ryoga in the side, which Ryoga saw as a gesture for him to go.

Before Ryoga even got started, he held his hand around Yuma, since this was their moment, together. "What Yuma is trying to say is that we both decided together that we want to have children of our own," he announced.

After that was said, the room was silent. No one made a single sound or said anything. All Ryoga and Yuma saw were stares directed at them. The silence was starting to make Yuma feel tense. He didn't like it if no one said anything because to him, that meant something was wrong. The man closed his eyes in fear of rejectement, but instead, he heard applauding.

Yuma opened his eyes to see not looks of hate, but filled with true love. He could tell everyone's expressions were sincere because they were far different than the others who had prejudiced against him and Ryoga. More so, his and Ryoga's family were applauding in a congratulatory manner. Yuma saw warm smiles on everyone's faces, just like the ones when Ryoga proposed to him.

Why did I even doubt my own family? I thought they would think I was crazy if Shark and I were going to be parents! I guess I was wrong about that, he thought.

"Oy, Yuma!" said Kazuma enthusiastically, wrapping his son into his arms.

Yuma was caught by surprise. "H-hey!" he chuckled.

The older man patted Yuma's head. "I'm proud of you and Ryoga on becoming a father! Kattobingu brought you all the way here to parenthood."

Mirai started to get a bit teary-eyed. She and her husband had missed five years of their son's life, but there was no way neither one of them were going to miss out on their son raising a family of his own! "My little boy is growing up... I'm so proud of you. You and Ryoga are so blessed," she said softly, trying so hard not to cry.

"Mom, Dad... I don't really know what to say. Do you really believe in Shark and I? Would we be good parents?" asked Yuma. "Be honest."

Mirai set her son's hands over her own. "If there's one thing your dad and I learned from raising you and Akari, it's that being a parent is one of the greatest parts of life. Look at how you and your sister have matured! But now, we get to be grandparents. That's the best thing you could ever give to us."

"Yuma?" said a younger female voice.

He looked over his shoulder thinking Akari was calling him, but Rio was there instead. She had a pleasant look and her hands appeared to be clenched behind her back. She casually leaned back and forth on her feet as if she expected Yuma to say something.

"Oh, Rio! I'm really glad you could make it tonight, because you know... It's special to me and Shark. I uh..." Yuma trailed off a bit, tapping his fingers. "About our decision... It was a little difficult to convince Shark he would be a good dad because he's had some conflicts about his and your past. I want you to tell me the truth: Do you truly believe Shark is going to be a good father?"

"Yuma, Ryoga and I stopped affiliating with Barian World long ago and Nasch and Merag are no more. We stopped hanging onto our past and I helped Ryoga not think too much about everything we had done. I know he had some misgivings because of me, but that doesn't make him a delinquent. So yes, I truly believe that you and Ryoga will be splendid parents."

"Thank you. I wasn't sure how to get this across to you without setting you off about your past."

"What's in the past can't be rewritten," stated Rio seriously. "We moved on from our Barian lives and haven't thought about it since then. It's for the best that we never turn back to Nasch and Merag." She dropped the seriousness and her tone became friendlier. "Thanks for thinking about us. It's nice to know that I was here to witness you guys deciding you want to raise a family."

Yuma smiled. "I just know that you'll be a wonderful aunt to our children, Aunt Rio."

RING! RING! Rio perked up realizing it was her D-Gazer. "Oh, I'm sorry Yuma, will you excuse me? I gotta take this call," she said apologetically.

"Go ahead, I've been wanting to get a drink."

Rio silently bowed in respect before she walked out of the room to take her call. After she left, Yuma wandered back towards a wine table in the living room. He pulled out a bottle of Saki Wine and poured the drink into a glass. Once he was finished pouring, he picked up the cup and proceeded to talk with his family, only to be tapped in the back.
Yuma turned to see his grandmother standing behind him, smiling with pleasure.

"Yuma, I have a question to ask you!" said Haru.

"What's that, Grandma?" Yuma replied, sipping his wine.

A snickering look formed on Haru's face similar to the one in the episode when Mizeal first appeared in Zexal II)). "Does this mean I'll finally be able to have great-grandchildren?" she said loudly, everyone heard.

The Tsukumos (including Shark) eyed the little old woman with a puzzled look that screamed, 'What kind of question is that?'

Yuma spat out his drink, his face turning red in embarrassment. "Grandma!"

Haru shrugged as if nothing was wrong with her statement. "What? You and Ryoga promised me they'd give me at least two grandchildren!"

Yuma slapped his hand to his head in embarrassment. Sometimes, Haru could be so forgetful about things due to her old age. He couldn't blame her for her forgetful.

"So, are you two thinking of adoption?" Haru said, changing the subject.

Yuma shook his head. "No, that's not really wasn't what Shark and I had in mind. We were thinking more along the terms of having our child biologically related to us. In other words, we're are looking into finding a surrogate mother to have the baby for us."

Unknown to Haru and Yuma, Rio was stuck around the corner listening to every word between the two. She too was curious how Yuma and her brother were to go on with the surrogacy process. She didn't want to give herself away, so she hushed herself and proceeded to listen like a fly on the wall.

"Oh, you are?" she heard an older voice, which she assumed was Haru. "Have you found someone yet?"

"We've been talking to a consultant at an infertility clinic and she's been interviewing surrogates. But, our consultant has told us that most of the women she's interviewed aren't interested in us because they don't want to have a baby for gays."

"I'm sorry about that, Yuma. I don't know why those women have to be so intolerant of you just because you and Shark's relationship."

"Grandma, thank you, but you don't need to be. Kattobingu will find a way to make this possible for me and Shark."

Just listening to Yuma talk about how much those other women wouldn't be a surrogate for him and Ryoga pissed off Rio and broke her heart at the same time. Sure they'd do it for a straight couple, but to reject her brother and his partner like that crossed the line for her. Her heart became heavy with grief just thinking about the men being rejected in person with slurs thrown at them. Now, Rio was stuck in a dilemma of her own in her conflicting thoughts.

I can't just be idle by while Ryoga and Yuma are looking for someone to help them become parents. All my life, Ryoga's done so much for me. He doesn't need to protect me anymore for me to do something to help them. But, what could someone like me do? Don't worry Ryoga. I'll help you find a way out of this mess!

Well, this is just the start, so you can look forward to so much more coming up for Yuma and Shark on their journey to start a family of their own! If you have any story ideas or wish to leave a review, please do so or PM me about it.

-Keep Dueling!

-brave bird