Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 11

Six weeks to the day after the earthquake, Kaiba had his cast removed and a clean bill of health passed on his formerly broken arm. It had been a very long and trying six weeks, during which his office building healed at approximately the same pace. There was still some carpet to be installed in some of the executive offices that had been damaged, but everything else was back to normal by the time he was, allowing him to plunge immediately back into all the work that had been delayed or upset by the earthquake aftermath. Such was the nature of his life, while his younger brother was off of school on summer break and making a nuisance of himself around either the estate or the KaibaCorp offices. Being as he was on the control committee for Kaibaland amusements and entertainment, Mokuba was not only allowed but expected to pop in now and then to pass judgment on new ideas for the parks or get the lowdown on how things were going. The Legendary Heroes virtual game had debuted and was sparking immense interest, bringing in loads of gamers who might not have otherwise visited the rest of the park. It was the sort of news that made Seto Kaiba secretly proud, for the game meant something to him, and to have people approve of it touched a part of him that usually stayed hidden and dormant beneath his businesslike exterior.

August had come with its hot, sunny days, the kind that made Yugi wish he could be outside frolicking with his friends rather than minding the game shop as a conscientious shop owner should. Not that his friends were out frolicking either; everyone was working, and the next term of university loomed on the horizon for Joey and Bakura. Tristan was still looking around for a new job, but his employer had still not moved him back from the office to the construction sites, so he figured he had time. Not that he wanted to spend forever working in the office either, it was boring and required him to wear nicer clothes every day. His boyfriend teased him about not being cut out for middle management and suits and ties, but only because he could pretty much agree that he wasn't, either. In fact, no one in their group of friends was that kind of person, not even Mai – but she got to wear cool clothes at her workplace, since it would be ridiculous for a fashion editor to not be on the cutting edge of fashion. She had brought Yugi back a shell necklace from Hawaii, because she thought it would be cute on him. Whatever present Joey got for having to live without her for a week, he never said.

Téa managed to get a weekend off right before her birthday, and came back home for a little visit in between summer festivals and performances. Her friends accordingly chose to throw her a birthday party while she was there, even though a couple of them had just gone down to Osaka the week before to watch her dance. It was just Yugi, Joey, and Tristan that day, and they barely got to say hello to a fully-garbed and made-up Téa, but now that she was home, they monopolized her time selfishly to her parents' chagrin. The party itself was rather intimate compared to some recent birthday bashes, just the usual six friends taking her out to a nice restaurant and then going back to her house for presents and dessert. Duke and Tristan behaved themselves for the most part, not so much for Téa's sake as her family's, because they had no idea what they would say if they found out. It just meant keeping their hands off each other while in the presence of people they needed to be polite to. Yugi took advantage of Téa's change in opinion to tease her that if her birthday had come a day or so later, she would have been able to have Yami at her party. The full moon fell one day after her actual birthday. Téa just rolled her eyes at him. "Sorry, I only had this weekend off," she pointed out. "I don't even get my birthday off, I'll be dancing that day." Then she grinned excitedly. "But my parents and all my relatives are coming down to see me dance. And then take me out for a night on the town in Osaka."

"Ooo, that'll be fun," Mai said enviously. "I hear that's a great place to go out. It's not quite Tokyo, but it's better than here," she added with a smirk.

"And I'm sure all your relatives are going to want to shower you with gifts for your coming of age," Yugi giggled.

"I hope so," Téa said. "Or else it's a thinly-veiled excuse to keep me from going out with the other girls in the dance group to get drunk. Not that I would, but they seem to think that going to school in America has made me want to get drunk like an American."

Tristan glanced around before making his comment. "Your parents don't seem to know you all that well, do they?"

Téa shrugged. "They're paying for me to go to a prestigious dance school in New York, I'm not going to complain."

"How long do you have before this gig is up and you go back to school?" Joey wondered.

Téa glanced at a nearby desk calendar with a sigh. "Not that long. I have a little more than a weekend between the end of my stint with the dance group and my flight back to New York. Barely enough time to do laundry and re-pack everything."

"Aw, that's no fun," Yugi complained. "We hardly get to see you as it is. We probably won't be able to get together before you go back to school."

"I know," Téa sighed regretfully. "But I have lots of reasons to come back home to visit this coming year. Especially in May." She beamed happily in Joey and Mai's direction.

"Yeah, don't go having any exams that week or nothin'," Joey warned. "We'll keep you posted."

Mai leaned past him so she could girl-talk with Téa directly. "I'll email you, we'll talk dresses. I've got connections, you know. Even in New York – I could probably fly there to have a designer work with me, you could meet me…"

Téa squealed. "Oh, that would be so cool! A bigtime New York fashion designer, designing your wedding dress?"

"I know!" Mai squealed right back. "Can you believe it?"

The boys all rolled their eyes at the same time. "So," Tristan coughed, "how about them…uh…"

"Duel Monsters?" Yugi said helpfully.

The morning after the full moon dawned clear and hot, one of those muggy August days where the sky turned a powdery, metallic gray-blue and cicadas sang from every wilting tree in the city. The heat was not enough of a deterrent to keep Yugi from his intended plan. He had reminded Yami once or twice over the past month about their agreement to visit the cemetery, and the pharaoh assured him every time that he was still fully on board with the idea and was looking forward to it. When Yugi told his grandfather of his intention, he received full blessing and encouragement. Grandpa Muto agreed that it was long overdue, and time Yugi, as an adult, begin to take over the responsibility of attending his parents' gravesite which Solomon had taken care of since Yugi was a small child. He was glad Yugi decided this for himself, out of the blue, and patted his young grandson on the shoulder. "I know it isn't an easy thing to have to think about," he said solemnly, "but it's nice to see that you have. And someday I'm not going to be here, it will all be on your shoulders."

"I know, Grandpa," Yugi said softly. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

"Nonsense." Grandpa Muto smiled kindly. "I didn't have to ask you to do it, you chose to all by yourself. That shows you're ready. I wasn't going to pressure you, I knew someday you would come into it on your own time." There was a hint of sadness behind his smile. "And you're going to introduce Yami to them. That's nice. You should, he's your sweetheart."

For a fleeting moment Yugi considered asking him his deepest burning question, whether or not Grandpa could say that his parents would have understood his relationship with the pharaoh, but he decided against it. Perhaps Yami was right, and everything would have been fine just because Grandpa Muto would naturally have raised his son with the same open-minded attitudes about life, but part of Yugi feared a less positive answer. Given the choice, he would have preferred not to know, rather than to discover a negative truth about his parents.

Now that the day had arrived, Yami awoke before his partner and watched him sleep for a while, not wishing to disturb his peace. So far, Yugi had shown no sign of backing out on the agreement or being in a dark mood because of it, but the pharaoh worried that at any minute he would have to take on the role of comforter. Just because he had no memory of parents of his own didn't mean he couldn't understand the pain of loss and the melancholy of having grown up without them. Personally, he was looking forward to the chance to get to know Yugi even better, to find out this last secret of his that he kept locked away in a corner of his mind. But he let Yugi sleep in as long as he wanted, to allow him this undisturbed rest for as long as possible.

Cicadas buzzed in the trees above them as the partners walked hand-in-hand up the sidewalk leading to the cemetery. The scant shade from the trees barely made a difference in the heat, but the two didn't mind it so much, as their thoughts were centered on their destination. They had to walk through a park first, and then the gabled gate lay before them in the hot sunshine. Everything was so quiet, but for the cicadas, as befitting the location. The trees in the park screened out all traffic noise from the city beyond. There were a few other people walking around the area, intent on visiting loved ones, but everyone kept to themselves. Yugi and Yami were both dressed somewhat conservatively, in long pants and short-sleeved shirts and very little jewelry, but their matching hairstyles made them stick out a little no matter what. They quietly passed individuals and pairs traversing the narrow aisles of the cemetery in the same manner, growing more solemn the further in they went. Yugi held a wrapped bouquet of flowers he intended to leave clutched to his chest, so he could muffle the rattle of the Puzzle chain. Now and then they would glance at each other and faintly smile, as if Yugi wanted to assure Yami that he wasn't upset, and Yami likewise conveyed his support with just that smile. Yugi led the way, even though it had been a long time since he had been here. Some part of him still knew the way. At last, when Yami was just beginning to wonder, they paused in front of a tablet bearing two names tucked into an alcove between other larger stones of similar shape and color. Yami's eyes wandered over the stone's mirror-smooth face and felt a sinking sensation in his heart to read the matching surname, the one he was intimately used to. "Well," Yugi said softly, as if afraid to disturb their rest, "here we are."

Yami let go of his hand and moved his touch to his partner's shoulder instead. "Your parents…are with each other in rest," he murmured.

"Mhm," Yugi nodded. "They didn't die at the same time, but they wanted to be buried next to each other if anything ever happened to them." He took a deep breath and then knelt down before the stone, laying the flowers on the flat stone pedestal below the names, directly in between the two. The splash of color was reflected in the polished surface of the headstone, bringing a spark of life to it. He crouched there for a silent moment, his hands resting on his knees, before he began to speak in a low tone, wistful but not upset. "My father died when I was really little," he explained, "so I hardly even remember him. Mom and I moved in with Grandpa, and he helped raise me, but then she got sick a few years ago, and died right before I even solved the Millennium Puzzle. Maybe that's why I spent so much time working on it," he added with a weak laugh. "When I was holding those pieces in my hands and turning all of my thought toward making them fit together, I didn't have the time or attention to think about how painful it was to lose my mother and not have anyone else but Grandpa to rely on. I missed her a lot," he added sadly, "but I put all my energy into solving the Puzzle instead. And then…" He looked up, a light of hope dawning in the smile returning to his face. "…I found you."

Yami gave him a faint smile of adoration. "Then, I came along just when you needed me."

"I guess you could say that." Yugi returned his attention to the grave before him, reaching out and tenderly brushing his fingers over the lines carved in the cold stone, tracing the strokes of the characters that made up his mother's name. "At least I remember Mom, she was with me and took care of me for a long time. I don't have very strong memories of my father, though, or both of them together. Just enough to make this kind of sad."

There was a light step behind him, and Yami's hand came down on his shoulder. "Are you going to be all right?" he murmured in his deep, velvety voice.

"Yeah," Yugi breathed. "It's not a bad thing, to feel this way. When you lose someone you love, your family…that's just the way it is." He gave a soft sigh. "I guess the only real sad part is that I wish I did get to know my parents as well as I know Grandpa. I wish I could say I loved them as much as I love him, but that's hard when I hardly knew them. That's why I'm so confused over whether they'd have accepted you, if they ever met you – I don't remember them well enough to be able to say with certainty. And that makes me sad." His fingertips slid down the stone and trailed away, his hands coming to rest in his lap again. "Grandpa took us in when I was really young. I pretty much credit him with raising me, he's my only true family. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him. I know I'm old enough to take care of myself, now, but…" He gave a sigh that made his shoulders heave. "I'd miss him ten times more than I miss my parents. A hundred times more. He means almost as much to me as you do…"

Yami raised an eyebrow. "I take a higher position than your grandfather?"

"Well," Yugi said shyly, "you're closer to me than he is. In a different way. Losing you would be like losing a part of myself." He shook his head slowly. "I don't want to think about that, though. Everything is going so well, I want to just focus on that, on how much I love you and how our life is so peaceful. I want to cherish every minute of it, so I'm never left regretting that I missed out on something that I should have shared with you."

The pharaoh nodded coolly, understanding at last. He kept his hand resting on Yugi's shoulder but nothing more, allowing him enough space to kneel and contemplate and make his peace as needed. After a moment's silence, Yami cautiously asked, "Can you tell me…how they died?"

Yugi took a deep breath before answering, his face still turned away, toward the headstone. "My father died in an accident when I was little," he replied. "I don't even remember it, I just know that's what I've been told. My mom…like I said, she got sick. At least she wasn't sick for a long time," he added sadly. "It would have hurt so much more if she had suffered for years. It was just her time, I guess." He touched the petals of the flowers he had laid, considering their color and softness. He had chosen pink asters, having some vague recollection that his mother's favorite color was pink. "They tried to hide it from me," he continued after a bit in a low murmur, "but it progressed so quickly, after a point they just couldn't hide the fact that Mom was sick and getting worse. I was a little blind to it at first, but I figured it out for myself before they could tell me. I just knew something was wrong, she wasn't herself." His shoulders sagged a little. "And I didn't really have any friends, then, to help me through it. I already felt alone as it was, but when there wasn't anyone there to talk to after she died…"

"That was before Joey, and Téa and the others?" Yami wondered.

Yugi nodded. "Way before. I didn't meet them until after I solved the Puzzle, remember."

"I'm so sorry, Yugi." Yami's hand slid across his partner's shoulder to comb through the hair at the back of his neck. "At least, things are different now. You have all of us."

"Yeah." Yugi sat staring at the stone for a while longer, and then sighed again. "Grandpa has always undertaken the responsibility of tending their graves and keeping the headstone clean, since I was only a little boy when they died and they didn't want to dump the role on me even though technically I should have been doing it because I'm the only son. But I'm an adult now, so maybe I should start taking the responsibility. Come once a year to wash the stone and clean away leaves and stuff."

Yami looked curiously down at him. "That's your responsibility?"

The young one nodded again. "That's the way we do things, here. A relative should keep up the gravesite, especially children for their parents. I guess it's time, now, that I started doing that. I should have done it as soon as I was old enough, but…"

"It's all right." Yami stroked his hair comfortingly. "Grandpa never spoke of it to you, or expected you to somehow shoulder this duty, so I don't think there is anyone who would be offended that you waited until now."

Yugi chuckled faintly in appreciation, and then fell silent for a long time, turning things over in his mind while his partner stood behind him, absently combing his fingers through his hair. Yugi didn't know what else to share with Yami, what more there was to say, considering how little he knew of his lost parents. It had been a very long time since he had actively thought about them this way, so it might take time for him to even have memories or regrets he might wish to share with his partner. At least now the ice had been broken, and Yami could have permission to poke around the darkest corners of his mind for secrets that didn't need to be guarded any longer. What faint memories of his father might have existed, they were hard to put into words – perhaps the spirit bonded with him could see or sense them instead. Yugi sat there pondering for a while, head bowed, until he felt it was time. He glanced up at Yami with a plaintive plea in his eyes that the pharaoh was able to read. He knelt down beside Yugi in a contrite pose, hands clasped in his lap, chin up, eyes focused on the names inscribed in stone. Yugi reached over and laid a hand over one of his, encouraging his partner to let him entwine their fingers. So prepared, Yugi also gazed up at the names before him and took a breath. "Mom," he murmured, "Dad…this is Yami. He's my boyfriend. My…my soulmate. I love him very much, and I wish you could have gotten to know him." His hand tightened in Yami's, but his attention remained on the gravestone. "He means so much to me, I don't even have the words to describe it. I never got the chance to introduce you, or find out what you think of your son being…being with another man, but I hope you would accept it. If for no other reason than because he's my soulmate, and loves me and watches out for me. If you met him, you'd know how gentle and kind he is, how good he is for me. He's taking care of me; you don't have to worry. And Grandpa likes him. That's got to count for something."

Yami remained silent as he knelt beside his partner, listening out of respect. He had nothing he could say, anyway, he was the intruder into this family conference of sorts. It was Yugi's place to say what he needed to say and get it all off his chest. Yugi sat for a moment just stroking his thumb along Yami's fingers, and then took another deep breath to preface the rest of his thoughts. "I may be really busy with my life, running the game shop, and all," he said quietly, "but I still miss you. It's times like this, when I try to think of how you would have reacted to find out about Yami and realize I don't know, that I miss you so much it hurts. I'm sorry I haven't been the best son I should have been, but Grandpa raised me right and I think you'd be happy to know that he's taught me to be kind, loving, and accepting of everyone no matter how different they are from me. When I think about him teaching me the same life lessons that he taught to his own children…" A smile graced his lips at last. "…I feel a little better. I hope he passed on the same loving heart and open mind to you. I wish I could have known for myself, but maybe it's all better this way. I've been really blessed, and I know no matter what, you wouldn't have ever stopped loving me. So…thanks." He lowered his head and took a shuddering breath, but then simply went still and retreated into his thoughts.

Yami extracted his hand and placed his arm around Yugi's shoulders. He still had nothing to say, nothing that could be expressed in words at the moment, so he settled for holding his young love and being his stable comfort. Yugi remained silent a long time, gazing absently down at the flowers resting before the gravestone, but then slipped his arm around his companion's waist and leaned into him. After a few minutes, Yami heard him sniffle and glanced to see him raise his other hand to rub his eyes. He hugged the young one briefly, eliciting a faint chuckle. "It's okay," Yugi assured him. "I'm okay."

"You can cry all you wish," Yami murmured in encouragement, turning his head just enough to press a tiny kiss to Yugi's temple. "This is the place for it."

Yugi sniffled once more. "No, it's all right. I'm not really sad. Just…you're right, this is the kind of place where you just feel like tears." He brushed one off his cheek and then glanced down at his hand, as if noticing the silver ring he wore every single day for the first time. "They might have found it weird at first," he mused, "but they would have accepted you when you gave me this. We made a commitment. I can just picture my mom gushing over how sweet it was…that you technically proposed to me. Or me to you," he added with a little grin.

Yami chuckled back but made no comment, squeezing him a little and then resuming the vigil. The sun burned on the backs of their necks, and only a slight breeze stirred the petals of the flowers as they sat watching, but they endured it without complaint. The pharaoh was content to allow his partner as much time as he needed to commune with his parents, to clear his mind and ease his heart before returning to the mundane world outside. They remained kneeling there without a further word for a while, arms around each other, until Yugi determined that what needed to be done was done. He signaled by glancing at Yami, and together the two of them rose and walked away in silence, still holding one another.

The arm slung comfortably around his shoulders made Yugi smile wistfully to himself as they walked back along the criss-crossing paths to the cemetery gate. "Thanks," he murmured so as not to disturb anyone else visiting loved ones. "For coming with me, and putting up with it."

"Putting up with it?" Yami wondered in disbelief. "Yugi, it was an honor to come with you. You and I are partners, on many levels – it is my pleasure to share everything with you, even painful memories like those of your family."

Yugi leaned into him contentedly. "Thanks, Yami. That means everything to me. I'm sorry if it felt like I was hiding anything from you…I just didn't know how to deal with my past, and whatever faint memories I have about my parents dying and being left with Grandpa. If there's anything else I'm keeping from you…just ask. I'll share it."

"I can't think of anything," the pharaoh said kindly, "but upon returning to the Puzzle I will be better able to sense your mind and see if there is anything else I'd like to know about you." He chuckled softly. "Though, by now I'm sure I know you almost too well."

As they walked, they passed by a couple nestled in each other's arms as they stood before a fairly new-looking gravestone, the woman dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. Yugi glanced at them and wondered, and then gave a soft moan of sympathy. "You know, I almost forgot, in all of this. I've been going on about my memories, but I've been totally insensitive to you – you don't have any." He looked up at his partner with worried eyes. "I've been taking it all for granted, and neglecting my parents' memories, but you don't even have memories of yours."

"It's all right," Yami assured, though his brow knit a little. "Those memories exist somewhere, just not within my grasp. I haven't been bothered by it, Yugi, so you don't have to worry."

"As long as you're sure," Yugi said. "It's just natural for us to want to cling to our memories, when we lose someone important. Memory is all we have – memory, and graves like this that we can visit." He shook his head slowly. "I guess, as long as there's some kind of tangible thing, like a grave to visit or an old photo or something, the ones you lost are never really gone. They live on in memory. I shouldn't be so afraid of mine…it's hard enough to remember my mom, without being afraid of getting all sad when I think of her."

A strong jolt of emotion suddenly passed through Yami, making his heart grow cold and his feet almost stumble as he walked. Yugi's comments about needing to visit monuments and remember caused his mind to seize on something strange and unsettling about himself: he was dead. He had a tomb, and there was a body in that tomb. He was just like all of the people here in the cemetery – a memory with a monument to him somewhere in the deserts of Egypt, but he no longer lived. Yami began to tremble, and his throat felt like it was closing on him. Yugi glanced curiously at him to see why his step was faltering, and stared in alarm to find him shaking and sweating unnaturally. "Yami? Are you okay? What's wrong?" he fretted.

The thoughts were racing through the pharaoh's head at breakneck speed. I'm dead. I have tried to ignore it but it must be the truth. Perhaps that's why I have no memories. It isn't that they're lost – they're dead, along with my body. He clutched a hand to his chest, as if to reassure himself that he was still housed within a solid body in defiance of the things his mind was telling him. "I…I need to sit down," he muttered in response to Yugi's question and panicked eyes. "Just for a minute…"

"Okay, we'll find someplace," Yugi promised, putting his arms around his partner and steering him carefully through the walkways to the quickest way out. "Maybe there's a place in the park. Are you okay? Is it…heat-stroke or something?"

Yami shook his head. "No, no…I just…I need to sit down and clear my head."

Yugi guided him through the gate and down into the park next to the cemetery, but there was no time to go searching out a park bench. They stumbled over to the nearest big, shady tree and sat down beneath it, where Yami promptly sagged into a crouch and clutched his head in his hands as if it hurt. Yugi threw his arms over his partner's shoulders and hugged him, whispering, "What's the matter? What happened? Yami…?"

It took a long time for Yami to be able to answer him, during which Yugi just cuddled him and waited with a worried expression in his eyes. The pharaoh took a few deep breaths to calm himself, and finally lifted his head slightly. "Yugi," he began in a hurt whisper, "I just realized…that I am dead. Just like everyone in that cemetery…I have a tomb and a place where people can come and remember me just as you remembered your parents…"

"What? No, that's not true!" Yugi protested. "How can you say that when you're sitting here next to me? You're not dead!"

"Then what am I?" the pharaoh cried, lifting his head and clenching his fists. "I am a disembodied spirit, trapped inside an artifact from thousands of years ago. My body passed a long time ago, it's dead, even though my spirit hasn't been able to cross over yet. I am nothing, Yugi – I am a ghost, a spirit. This ritual body is nothing but an illusion, a false hope to make me think I might still be alive in some way. But I'm not…" His voice faltered and he began to tremble again, staring down at his hands in his lap turned palms-up. "It's all been a lie. I'm not alive; I can never live again. My lost memories are part of me that died long ago, the rest of me just hasn't crossed over yet."

Hearing the words tumbling off his partner's lips shocked and scared Yugi down to the core of his heart. If he hadn't been sitting beside him, stroking his back tenderly in comfort, he might have believed every word. "But," he tried to say, "that can't be right. You…you're not just any spirit. Something happened when you were trapped in the Millennium Puzzle. How can you say for sure…?"

"I have a tomb, don't I?" Yami said bitterly. "Marik's family has been in charge of guarding it for five thousand years."

"Yeah, but…" Yugi gazed helplessly at him. "You don't know that there's a body in that tomb. Maybe your followers just built it out of a need to have some place to mourn their pharaoh – and prepare for his eventual return." His gaze hardened. "You know that's what Marik's family has been about. Not just guarding the tomb, but waiting for you to come back. They knew you would, that's why you can't be dead. You can't!"

"There's no sense getting angry about it," Yami said morosely. "It won't change anything. I am dead, Yugi…it's time I faced up to the fact."

"How do you know?" Yugi continued to argue. "Have you had any kind of memory come back to you? Do you remember Egypt, or dying, or anything about it?"

The pharaoh looked away sheepishly. "No, I…there is no memory, Yugi. Still nothing."

"Then how can you say for sure?" Yugi sat back from him, fisting his hands at his sides. "You only know as much as I do about Egyptian tombs, because you've heard anything I've ever heard or read on the subject, or seen in the museum. You only know what they're supposed to be like, but you don't know anything about yours or what really happened to you back then. Because of the Millennium Items and the way your spirit has been stored inside the Puzzle, you can't say for certain that your body died and is in the tomb like all the other pharaohs." He gestured angrily toward the Puzzle on his chest. "For all either of us know, the magic that bonds you to the Puzzle took your body along with it, and that's why you can re-materialize it through the ritual. There's so much about it we don't know, you can't go making any kind of crazy statement like that! You're just making yourself panic over nothing!"

Yami caught his breath and shrank away from the force of Yugi's shout. "Then why is there a tomb for me in Egypt?" he murmured darkly, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and turning away. "There are people who can visit that tomb and remember me, or could eons ago when they still knew who I was. You're right, we don't know how the magic of the Millennium Items works, or what truly happened, but the fact remains that I should be dead. I don't belong in this time, my life was over five thousand years ago and whatever part of me still lingers here…shouldn't."

"Don't say that!" Yugi heaved a deep breath to keep from bursting into tears, but his voice quavered with emotion. "It isn't like that. You're not dead; you're here. You're sitting here next to me and I can touch you and feel you and kiss you…doesn't that make a difference?" He gave his partner an angry pout. "I don't care what your body is made out of, or how the magic works, all that matters to me is that it's real. It's real enough to touch, it bleeds, it gets hungry and hot and cold and…it does all kinds of other things a body is supposed to do. That makes me believe you're not dead, you're nowhere near dead! As long as your spirit is still here with me, you're not dead! If so much of this is uncertain and hard to understand, let's at least hold onto the things we do know." He fell onto Yami's shoulders again, hugging him and resting his cheek on the pharaoh's shoulder. "Please, Yami. Don't do this. Don't lose hope. You know I'm with you to the very end, I'm going to help you get your memory back and everything else you've lost."

He clung to Yami for a while, but a soft sound made him lift his head. Tears ran down Yami's cheeks, but he made hardly a sound as he wept out of fear. Yugi squeezed him tighter, and was heartened to find the pharaoh's head tilting to rest against his. They sat like that for a while, until Yugi sidled closer and kissed away the tears on his partner's face. "I'm sorry," Yami shuddered. "I don't mean to hurt you, Yugi. I just…can't get the thought out of my mind. I know what you're trying to say, but part of me…part of me still isn't convinced. How can I be different from the people entombed here? My mind won't accept it."

"It can't be as bad as you think," Yugi said hopefully. "I'm sure…once we figure everything out, and you have your memory back, we'll find it's not at all like either of us think. Nothing can be sure when you're talking about the Millennium Items. There's so much mystery wrapped around them." He gazed intently into his partner's eyes, but Yami was so downhearted, Yugi knew there was nothing more he could say. He just rubbed his shoulders one more time and murmured, "Come on, let's go home. It's too hot to be sitting out here, even in the shade. You should…lay down and rest or something. Or get your mind off it. Okay?"

Yami swallowed hard, but gave no indication to either agree or disagree with the proposition. He waited until Yugi got to his feet and brushed off his pants before finally pushing himself up after him, his head down and eyes dark with sadness. Though he knew Yami was on the edge of inconsolable, Yugi gingerly took his hand and silently led the way, thinking to himself that it was going to be a very long and unpleasant walk home. Besides the heat and distance, now Yami was shaken and bereft, and Yugi unsettled with no way of picking his partner's spirits up. They said hardly a word to each other the whole way home, and remained subdued as they let themselves into the cool interior of the house and climbed up the stairs. Only then did Yugi break the long, heavy silence between them. "I'm going to go let Grandpa know we're back," he murmured, reaching to glance a light touch over his partner's back. "Why don't you go get changed into something comfortable, okay?"

Yami nodded and drifted toward the bedroom to do so. Yugi sighed and made his way down the front stairs into the game shop, peeking around the door just to say hello to Grandpa Muto. Solomon perked up on seeing his grandson. "There you are!" he exclaimed. "You had a phone call while you were out. I took the message…" He tore a piece of paper off a pad near his elbow and stepped over to hand it to Yugi. "It's from Seto Kaiba, of all people."

"Oh?" Yugi glanced over the message and the phone number. It wasn't very detailed, just "Kaiba, business," and the office number. "Did he say anything about it?"

"Just that he was calling on whatever matter you two had already discussed," Grandpa replied casually. "I said I'd give you the message and you'd call him back when you could."

Yugi nodded. "Yeah, I will. Just…not today. I'm with Yami right now, I don't want to interrupt our time."

"Sounds like a deal to me." Grandpa Muto looked him over and gave him a thoughtful look. "How did everything go?"

"Fine." Yugi sighed and turned around, taking the message note with him. "I want to get out of these nice clothes. It's so hot outside."

"Hm, yes, I bet it was." Grandpa watched him go, but didn't say anything about the downhearted shade he could see in his grandson's eyes.

Yugi joined Yami in his room and stripped out of his good shirt, seeking shorts and a lighter shirt instead. Yami had donned jeans and a tank top, and sat on the edge of the bed half-heartedly watching his partner change. Once Yugi was ready, he stepped up in front of Yami, giving him a plaintive look. "Are you doing any better?" he asked hopefully.

Yami winced and rubbed at his forehead. "I think…maybe I'll take a walk to clear my head. A walk…alone."

Yugi's eyes saddened even more. "Alone? Are you sure?"

The pharaoh looked away, conscious that he had already hurt his lover by just saying that word. "You and I never get the chance to be truly alone, our spirits are with each other constantly except for on these days. It isn't that I don't want to be with you…" He glanced up, hoping to put Yugi at ease. "I just thought…it was a chance to take advantage of the separation to be alone with my thoughts for a bit. What I'm forced to think about is disturbing enough, I don't want to bring your mood down with me."

"It's okay," Yugi said in a small voice. "I understand. You need some time alone, so you can think. Maybe…that's a good idea. Go take a walk, take your time. I'm not going anywhere." He stepped back and uncomfortably tucked his hands into his pockets. "I'll be here. Go on; don't worry about me. You…you have a lot to think about."

Yami rose and stepped to meet him, briefly touching his cheek. "I won't be long. I just need some time and space to clear my head of these miserable thoughts. I promise not to make you worry."

"It's a little late for that," Yugi said with a faint, dry chuckle. "If you're not back by dinnertime, I'll come looking for you, but…"

"I'll try not to delay," the pharaoh promised. He set his hand on Yugi's shoulder for a moment, and then they stepped away from each other, Yami to the door and Yugi to his desk to fidget with something. He had said he understood, and he did, that Yami wanted to sort out the tomb misery by himself, but he couldn't help feeling the slightest bit rejected. As soon as he heard the door downstairs close, a sob welled up in his throat. Yugi sat down on his bed, fighting against the inevitable, and then curled up on his side so a few tears could roll down his cheeks and soak his pillow.

Yami walked around the neighborhood in a haze, turning things over in his mind. The city streets were easy enough to navigate; at any point he could turn a couple of corners and be heading back in the direction he came from, which was good, because his mind was not on his path. He already felt terrible about the worried look in Yugi's eyes that met the declaration that he wanted to keep these thoughts to himself. And after they had just spoken about openly sharing the last lingering secrets of Yugi's past! They were so used to sharing everything, even worries and fears, holding nothing back, that for him to want to mull his dark despair over alone must have been a blow to Yugi's trust. He knew he had hurt his young love, but it wasn't on purpose – he wanted to spare Yugi further hurt, for the thoughts he entertained now were too painful even for him to suffer. Yami didn't want to think of himself as some kind of lingering ghost of a dead body, a deceased Egyptian pharaoh from thousands of years ago clinging to this modern world when he should be at rest. Yet, that was what he appeared to be. If not for the multitude of mysteries surrounding the Millennium Items, the Puzzle, his missing memory, and everything else, he would have been quick to berate himself for not having the courage to just let go and pass into the afterworld like a good dead pharaoh should. There was a reason he was still here, and a reason there had been a ritual designed to restore his spirit temporarily to a body. Was it so he could live out a few last thrills that he might have been missing, or was there a more valuable purpose for it? Surely, his spirit's prison could not have been a mere magical accident. There was an ultimate purpose for which he had been locked away inside the Puzzle, and for all he knew, he himself had chosen this path and knew full well that he would lose his memory and his body in doing so. It was all part of that great uncertainty that wreathed everything in shadows, making it impossible to think clearly and come to proper conclusions about himself, his existence, or anything. Yet, for the moment, since he didn't have to worry about guarding his thoughts from affecting Yugi from the inside, Yami poured over all of it no matter how dark and painful it might have been. He walked along with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans, head down, hardly noticing where he was walking or who he passed. His head was too full of unpleasant existential angst to bother paying attention to the world around him. It's no good to ask myself who I am or why I'm here, he mused, for those questions have no answers. Perhaps I ought to question whether my spirit's existence constitutes being alive. If I really am living, or only fooling myself. He sighed, closing his eyes briefly. To consider himself dead and merely lingering unnaturally thanks to shadow magic seemed to make the most logical sense, but it flew in the face of everything he and Yugi had promised to each other. Perhaps it was irrational to refuse to admit to being dead, but nothing in his existence since awakening in his vessel after eons had ever been rational. Was it rational to duel in the shadow realm, to call on powers to protect himself and his vessel, to awaken the gods and even to exist inside a Puzzle? The more Yami pondered, the more it seemed to him that his battle was not between living and dying, being and not being, but rather between truth and logic. Often scholars wanted to equate the two, but considering everything that had happened to him and Yugi in their life together, he was inclined to believe that they were actually two separate principles. The world had its own considerations of what was logical and rational, and like Seto Kaiba, scoffed and pouted and declared impossibility when faced with a truth that went against the expected logic. Does that mean, the pharaoh asked himself, that just because it seems logical that I ought to be considered the spirit of a dead man, does not necessarily make it true?

About the only thing that interrupted his train of thought was the necessity of stopping once in a while to wait for the light to change so he could cross a street. At one such pause, he took stock of just how far he had walked from home and whether he should cross there or turn the corner and start heading back. The heat didn't bother him much, though the back of his tank top was damp with sweat. Yami stood gazing up at the signals, his thoughts having wound down to the rhetorical question before going quiet, and waited. As he did, he sensed someone come up behind and then beside him, also intent on watching the lights for them to change. Then, a light female voice intruded on his introspection. "I can't believe how hot it is," she sighed. "What I wouldn't give for a cold soda right now."

Yami lifted his head slightly, and only then realized that the girl standing next to him was talking to him. "Oh…uh…" He glanced at her, thinking for a moment that she looked like she ought to have been wearing a high school uniform. She smiled at him, but he could think of no proper response to her comment. "Yes," he murmured, "it's…very hot."

Her smile intensified. "I don't suppose you're free to maybe go and get that cold soda, hm?"

"Me?" Yami couldn't help but stare in perplexity.

"Oh, unless you're busy right now," the girl shrugged, taking a cell phone out of her tiny purse. "Sorry, you just looked like you could use some company, and I just happen to not have any plans tonight."

The pharaoh still stared at her, unsure what she was getting at, but beginning to guess. If he was right, it was even more confusing. "I'm sorry," he stammered. "But I'm not available…"

The girl didn't seem put off for a moment. "Well, then, maybe some other time. I can give you my phone number…" She raised her phone and clicked some buttons. "Or you could give me yours…"

Now he was sure, and Yami recoiled a step in surprise. "No, you don't understand," he said awkwardly. "I already have a partner. Someone I love very much." His eyes softened as Yugi entered his thoughts. "He's waiting for me, I ought to go."

The girl's eyes widened in horror, as the light changed for them at that very timely moment. "What? You…you're gay? Oh my…sorry. Sorry!" She clutched her phone and her purse to her chest and darted across the street, glancing back only once as if afraid he was going to follow her. Far from being offended, Yami stood there and began to smile to himself, feeling a strange sense of pleasure to watch the girl panic and flee from him – or perhaps distance herself from the fact she had just hit on a gay man. It had been so natural to object, to think of Yugi and speak of loving him, it gave him pause to think. No matter what logic wanted to tell him, or what historical facts existed about the Egypt of his past, the truth was in his heart. He loved Yugi, deeply, madly, and found in him a reason to live. He had a destiny to stand against the shadow games, that was important too, but the line between his spirit's fulfillment of its purpose and truly living again in whatever new form this was lay in his love for Yugi. Without his soulmate perhaps he was just a disembodied spirit, but with Yugi, he felt truly alive. Therein lay the difference between logic and truth, death and life. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Yami chose to allow the light to change again and turned the corner instead, making his way around the block to take a straight path home.

With his hands in his pockets, Yami slunk back toward Kame game shop at an easy pace, neither in a hurry nor delaying himself. Along the way he passed the corner gift shop where he had once bought presents for Yugi, and gazed longingly at the flowers in the window as he drew near. But he didn't have any money on him that he knew of, he hadn't planned this excursion and couldn't have expected to ask for any. Still, the shop hid in the shelter of some shade trees, a nice place to pause and look through the window at all the pretty flowers. It would have been nice to get Yugi something to make up for this afternoon, but such things required money. He shrugged and turned to go, but then the shop girl who knew him from his past visits came out of the door to water some of the wilting flowers on the sidewalk display. She smiled brightly at him and waved hello, at which Yami waved half-heartedly back. "It's good to see you," she enthused. "Anything I can help you find today?"

Yami made a pained smile. "No, I'm sorry," he replied. "I…don't have any money with me." He had been fumbling awkwardly in his pockets the whole time, and fingered something papery in one of them, but didn't consider what it might have been.

"Aw, that's too bad," the shop girl said. "You look a little down, I wondered if maybe there was something I could help you with. Little presents always cheer me up."

Yami nearly disagreed and said his farewell, but the paper in his pocket was making him exceptionally curious now, so he drew it out to see what it was. Lo and behold, it was a single wrinkled bill, perhaps left in the pocket from the last time Yugi had worn this pair of jeans. The pharaoh blinked at it in surprise, but knew enough to know that it wasn't enough for a gift for Yugi. "Unfortunately, this is all I have," he explained, "so no, no presents today. Thank you, though."

"Hm, that's a shame," the shop girl said wisely as she watered the flowers. "It just so happens that the white roses are on sale today for just that much." He looked at her, and then glanced past her to the tub of roses on display. She grinned and surreptitiously positioned herself in front of the sign showing the actual price so he wouldn't see it. "What do you say?"

Yami began to smile again, a little reluctantly as he fingered the wrinkled wad of currency. "Well, I would like to, but…" Pain furrowed his brow for a moment. "I'm not sure that I can just wipe away my boyfriend's worries by buying him a single flower."

"That's true," the shop girl admitted, clasping her hands behind her back. "But often a flower is just enough to get a boyfriend's attention long enough for the holder to say what he needs to say, whether it's 'I love you' or 'I'm sorry' or whatever. Sometimes flowers do the speaking for you, but sometimes, you just need one to break the ice for you."

After a moment, Yami found himself smiling warmly. It was just what he needed to hear. "You drive a hard bargain. Perhaps I will take one rose. Even though…" He held out the bill from his pocket. "…this is literally all I have."

"Looks like it's just enough." She crooked a finger to request that he follow her just inside the shop so she could wrap up a single white rose for him.

Yami watched in amusement and then handed over his money, hoping that Yugi had forgotten it was in those jeans and wouldn't miss it. "Thank you," he murmured kindly as he took the rose delicately into his hands. "No wonder your shop is doing so well, you know just how to get people to buy from you no matter what."

"Ah, it's no big deal," the girl said with a wave of her hand. "You've bought from me before and I'm sure you will again, so it's no loss. I'm glad I could help." She tilted her head and gave him a concerned look. "You just looked so sad when you walked by, I couldn't resist. Boyfriend troubles, huh?"

Yami bowed his head. "I overreacted about something and made him angry," he admitted. "I can only hope that you were right, and this will get his attention long enough for me to say what he needs to hear." He bowed slightly in respect. "You have been my oracle, always here at the right time with the right thing to say. I don't know how you got to be such a good judge of people with good advice to share."

The girl laughed and blushed. "Me? I'm no oracle!" she giggled. "I've just been in this business a long time, and I've seen enough people with their love problems come through here to know how they behave and what helps them the most." She bowed back. "You're very welcome. Good luck with your sweetheart."

Yugi was sitting on the couch in front of the TV flipping mindlessly through channels when he heard the door, and called out to Yami in question. The pharaoh appeared silently in the doorway, looking contrite and worried and gingerly holding the rose, unwrapped, before him. Yugi's eyes widened, and he dropped the remote abruptly. "Yami?" he said again.

For a moment, Yami couldn't respond. He glanced down at the white rose and blinked absently. "I…got this for you. There was a…a sale, at the flower shop down the street."

Stunned into silence, Yugi pushed himself off the couch and came over to him, his eyes glimmering. He looked to have been instantly charmed by the sight of the rose, for his gaze went to it first and then up to his partner's face in wonder. Yami smiled faintly at him. "I don't know what I need you to hear most," he said quietly, "though there is much I ought to say. But, after doing a lot of thinking, I realize I need to say 'thank you. ' I've been such a burden to you for so long, and yet you love me without question, without asking anything in return, and for that I am thankful." He held the rose out to Yugi, encouraging him to take it and hold it himself. Yugi cradled the flower gently, being mindful of the thorns, and raised it to his face to give it a sniff. Yami reached out to run a fingertip down his cheek. "I am utterly undeserving of such a precious and powerful love, and I know it. But you have never withheld it from me, even when my presence in your life is more pain than happiness, and I am deeply grateful."

Yugi held the rose to him, his eyes lowered, and then he took a step forward, leaning against Yami's chest. Strong arms came around him and held him tightly, at which Yugi sagged into him with a sigh and closed his eyes. "I love you," he whispered. "That's all I wanted to say today, when you were so upset. I love you, Yami…"

"I love you, too." Yami snuggled him, swallowing his pride and emotion but leaving much unsaid. Words would have ruined the moment.

Yugi slid one arm around his companion's waist to hug him back, though he still held the rose close enough to his face to be able to breathe its scent. After a bit, he raised his head and murmured, "Are you…okay?"

"I am now," Yami admitted with a nod. "I thought it through, and I realize that you were right. So much is unknown, there is no reason to be jumping to conclusions about my existence. I understand now what really matters – you, my partner and my friend. You make all the difference. I'm sorry I worried you."

"It's okay." Yugi nuzzled him and said into his chest, "I was afraid you might have been right, but I don't want you to be dead. You're here, right now, holding me, I can hear your heartbeat and feel you breathe…and that's what matters to me. Even if it's only once a month, you're still alive. You're completely real."

"I am," the pharaoh agreed. "And though I wish I could recover my memory, for now, it won't do any good for me to look backward. I need to move forward, and prepare myself for that moment in time when my questions will be answered. Until then, there is nothing wrong with staying here and loving you."

Yugi smiled and nodded, and then snuggled into him some more. They stood together for a while, needing the closeness, until Yugi's stomach growled to remind him that it was getting close to dinnertime. Their partnership had been tested and came out stronger for the rough moment, leaving Yugi in a cutely attentive mood that drove him to suggest they go out for dinner together. They needed the time with each other, time not spent with friends or other interlopers, doing something only for themselves, being normal lovers. Yami liked the idea, so they paused a moment to put Yugi's rose in water and then went out into the city on a hunt for a nice place to have a good meal and enjoy each other's company. They ended up at a not-too-fancy café that had a second-floor patio overlooking the ocean a few miles away, a good place to sit until the sun set and the stars came out, enjoying the view and the cooling sea breeze and no one bothering them about being two boys in love with each other. It reminded Yugi of the first time they had gone out together, to a similar place with a much better view of the ocean, though he could happily say that he was just as much in love now as he had been back then. They sat and talked about silly things, laughing and holding hands, just being themselves with no deep thoughts to intrude. When it came time to settle up, the waitress suggested dessert to them, seeing as they had been sitting there together long enough to have made room for some. "We have some summer specials," she pointed out with a happy lilt. "How about ice cream with fresh berries? We even have strawberries…"

Yami's eyebrows raised, and he glanced at Yugi, expecting him to jump at the chance. But to his surprise, Yugi just smiled quietly and shook his head. "No, thank you. It sounds good, but…I think we're fine. Thanks."

"All right then. I'll bring you your bill," the waitress said politely before vanishing.

Yami gazed concernedly at his partner. "Are you sure? I know how much you like strawberries. And ice cream."

The angelic smile remained on Yugi's lips. "I don't need them tonight. I have everything I need right here, with me. A dessert like that is totally unnecessary to make me any happier."

Yami smiled back appreciatively, caressing the hand he held clasped across the table in return. They made their way quickly back home after that, where they could wrap themselves in each other's arms and thank each other for the splendid ending to a long day. They never mentioned anything about their fight to Grandpa Muto, even though he noticed the rose in the vase on the living room table. He chalked it up to the pair being cute and romantic as usual, and wished them a good night before leaving them to disappear into their bedroom as they pleased. There, they were free to spend the rest of the night tenderly making love until they exhausted themselves, after which they laid together snuggling until midnight stole Yami away once again. They had not spoken of their argument in the park after Yami returned with the rose, saying their apologies and leaving it there, in the past as the pharaoh had said. The rest of the night together was spent looking forward, appreciating what they had and expressing it to one another. Yugi could honestly say, as he tumbled into his rumpled sheets smelling of sex, rose oil, and Yami, despite the minor fight it was one of the best ritual days he ever had.