A/N: We've reached the end of The Pharaoh's Hikari! It's kind of a bittersweet moment, considering I've been writing this story for the past two and half months but ultimately a satisfying one. This story was born from Light in the Dark, which was born while listening to Tove Lo's, Habits on repeat for a number of days. I remember listening to it at the time and trying to imagine this love that was just so tremendous that without it, without that person, it would be impossible to survive without numbing yourself (being high, drunk, ultimately making destructive decisions). It was with this thought process that this story was born, and in retrospect, I am very satisfied with how it turned out.

Thank you for all of your reviews and support throughout this journey!

Chapter Twenty

Yugi rubbed his neck.

He had been sitting in the same position for the past two hours, his entire body stiff as he studied for his next exam. Beside him, Ryou had his chin propped on his palm, his eyes slightly glazed as he stared at the book in front of him. Yugi sympathized with his friend. It hadn't seemed like that long ago that he had been dealing with the same exhaustion the first few weeks after he'd met Yami and been adamant about keeping his distance from the older boy. The separation, physical and mental, had been a major drain on Yugi's energy, and it hadn't gotten better until he'd honestly begun to accept the bond connecting them.

The day after the duel with Pegasus, Yugi had talked to his friend and discovered that in the weeks prior, Bakura had told Ryou that he was his hikari. Ryou hadn't been angry at Yugi for keeping the secret from him but, he had demanded that he tell him everything he knew about being a hikari. Ryou's relationship with Bakura was a roller coaster at best, and after knowing his yami for three months, Yugi wasn't sure if the pair had made any major gains in solidifying their bond.

"I don't understand this at all," Ryou said. "Was King Anbul's tomb discovered in 1913 or 1915 because one book says 13 and the other says 15?"

Yugi looked up, and found his friend staring across the table at Malik. The hikari of the Rod fiddled with his earring. It turned out that after serving as a tomb keeper for the first fifteen years of his life and knowing practically every bit of Egyptian history, Malik made a pretty good study companion for their ancient Egypt course. Plus, having more than three years' experience with his yami, he seemed to know everything there was to know about being a hikari and had become the go-to source for Yugi and Ryou when trying to figure out what was going on in their yami's heads.

"It was 1913," Malik said. He spun his pen between his fingers. "But, if I'm remembering right – I think there was some sort of antechamber in the same tomb discovered later in 1915."

Ryou thanked him, scrawling the information in his notes and returning to his book.

Malik went back to his own homework. He was the youngest of the three of them, just shy of nineteen, but he'd been taking part-time university courses at the community college for the past year, having never received any formal education in the tombs. Over the past few weeks, Yugi and Ryou had folded him into their frequent study sessions and, it seemed like they rarely went more than a day without seeing each other anymore.

After another hour passed, Yugi's phone buzzed in his backpack. He dragged himself away from his notes, checking the message from Yami.

I'm waiting outside.

"Crap!" Yugi said. He shoved his phone in his pocket, gathering his things and stuffing them in his backpack. "I'm having dinner at Yami's parents' house and, he's waiting for me outside to go. I completely lost track of time."

"Don't worry," Malik said, waving him off as Yugi moved to clear his empty tea cup. "We'll see you later."

Yugi said his goodbyes, pounding down the steps and out onto the street in a matter of minutes. As he stepped outside, he found Yami leaning against the stoop. The air was cooling with the early whispers of fall and, the sun had dipped low in the sky, the beginnings of sunset blooming.

"Hey," Yugi said. He grabbed the older boy's hand, rounding to face him. "Sorry, we were studying so hard that I lost track of time."

Yami shrugged, leaning down to kiss him. When they separated, Yugi's stomach was fluttering. It had almost been a year since he'd first met Yami, and he wondered how it was possible to still be so affected by him. Yami tugged him towards the car that idled at the curb.

The older boy gave the driver his parent's address as they settled inside.

"Wait, we aren't going home first?" Yugi said.

Yami looked at him as the driver paused, waiting for further instruction.

"I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt," Yugi said. He pointed to the collared shirt and slacks the older boy was wearing. "I look like a slob next you!"

Yami shrugged. "You look fine."

Yugi frowned. "It will seem disrespectful."

"My mother doesn't care what you are wearing," Yami said. He nodded to the driver, and he pulled away from the curb, joining traffic.

"Your father does!"

Yami shrugged again.

Yugi flicked him. "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Shrugging!"

Yami smiled at him, a slow lift of his lips that widened into a full grin.

"What are you smiling about?" Yugi said.

Yami shook his head. The older boy took his hand, and Yugi settled back against the seat, his eyelids heavy as the buildings blurred past.

Yugi accepted a plate from Akemi.

The table was full of dishes, the smell of cumin and coriander circulating the room as they passed the food between them. When their plates were full, they started on the meal. Yugi complimented Akemi on the food after the first bite. In the few times they'd eaten with Yami's parents, Yugi was still in surprised that the flavors of whatever Middle Eastern dish Akemi served could be so distinct from the Japanese fare he'd been raised on.

"How is work going, Yami?" Akemi asked, her bracelets clinking as she took a sip of wine. "Your father has been telling me that Seto is acquiring a new company?"

"Industrial Illusions has expressed interest in aligning with Kaiba Corp," Yami said. He met Yugi's eyes. "It seems that their CEO has had a recent change in heart in how he wishes to do business."

"That's wonderful," Akemi said.

Yami nodded. "It seems so."

"Seto would do well to get Industrial Illusions under his control as quickly as possible," Kenta said. Yami's father put down his fork. "That Crawford has always seemed two faced to me."

Yugi coughed as he choked down a bite of food.

"His personality does seem rather split at times," Yami said.

Gulping down some of his water, Yugi hid his smile behind his glass.

"And you must be busy with school, Yugi?" Akemi said.

Yugi nodded.

"I hope you aren't having too much difficulty," Akemi said, her forehead wrinkling. "I know Yami said you had to take a few weeks off for a family emergency."

"It's been difficult," Yugi said, "but my friends have been helping me a lot and, Ishtar-sama has been giving me extra work to make up the time I missed." He and Yami had decided to keep the whole ordeal with Pegasus under wraps from anyone but those directly involved, and the official story was that Yugi had missed school while caring for an ill relative.

The conversation continued, and surprisingly, Yami's father had remained relatively civil throughout the meal. Yugi marked it a success, albeit a small one. After eight months, at least Kenta didn't openly despise him anymore. He and Yami cleared the dishes, leaving his parents to tea in the living room. No matter how much Yugi tried, the idea of taking another sip of tea for the rest of his life made his skin crawl.

"Do you think the deal will really happen?" Yugi said, taking a dish to dry from Yami. After the duel with Pegasus, they had discussed at length how to best monitor the older man in order for Cyndia to be allowed to live. With the help of the other yamis, they'd convinced Pegasus to move from the castle to the mainland, moving the Industrial Illusions headquarters to Juto, a small city an hour outside of Kyoto. It hadn't been a hard sell considering Pegasus' prison for the past ten years had looked remarkably similar to the castle still sitting on Illusion Island.

As part of the condition, Pegasus was required to make visits to the Kaiba Corp headquarters every week so that Yami could judge his mental clarity. Not showing up meant a one way ticket to the shadow realm for Cyndia, and talking and interacting with the other hikaris was prohibited. It was a strict but, it was better than nothing. It had been almost two months since the duel, and so far, Pegasus had seemed to have made some kind of reconciliation with his wife though from what Yami had told him, Yugi wasn't sure if Pegasus would ever let Cyndia take control of his body again.

"The probability of a merger is high," Yami said. "Pegasus is tired of running a company. I suspect it had been his wife who was the interested party in the business for the past few years."

Yugi nodded. They continued to wash and dry, settling into silence as they worked through the stack of dishes. As they finished, Yugi hung his dish towel to dry, waiting for Yami to empty the sink. The older boy grabbed his arm as the water drained, tugging Yugi into his chest as he leaned back against the counter.

Sinking into his hold, Yugi felt Yami's arms close around him, keeping him close.

"You are tired," Yami said.

"I'm always tired," Yugi said. "I have to keep track of you."

Yami tightened his arms for a second, and Yugi smiled.

"Being here always reminds me of when we first moved here," Yugi said. "I remember being so nervous about everything but, things have changed so much in such a short amount of time."

"There will be more challenges ahead," Yami said. "Pegasus' defeat will not be the last of the darkness that seeks us out."

"I know," Yugi said, curling his fingers into Yami's shirt. "But, we can handle it – especially with everyone's help."

"I wish you did not insist on pushing me, Bakura, and Mariku together," Yami said.

"It's good for you!" Yugi said. "You seem less stressed out when you spend time with them."

"Aibou – "

"You know it's true! You do all your dark, shadowy things together and, it's good for you."

"Dark, shadowy things?"

"Trust me, I don't even want to know what you guys are doing when Malik, Ryou, and I aren't with you. As far as I am concerned – I'll just think of it as dark, shadowy things and leave it at that."

Yami shook his head.

They stood there for another few minutes, Yami's fingers warm as they traced circles on Yugi's back. When he felt drowsiness dragging down his eyelids, Yugi pulled away. Yami frowned but, allowed Yugi to take his hand. He led the older boy to the kitchen door, intent on rejoining Yami's parents before they started to wonder what was taking so long.

His and Yami's relationship wasn't perfect. It would never be perfect. The bond that connected them would live with them for the rest of their lives, and they might spend the next eighty years fighting collectors and soul stealers from trying to break them apart. They would forever have to fight the balance of light and dark that they shared between them but, it was worth it. Every moment of stress, pain, sadness – Yami was worth it.

Yugi's life had changed the moment that Yami had walked into it, and looking back he couldn't imagine how he had survived so long without him. It was a strange life, a strange love, but being with Yami, talking to him, touching him – it was all Yugi would ever need.

With one hand on the kitchen door, Yugi paused, turning to face Yami.

"I'm glad we moved here," Yugi said.

Yami watched him, crimson eyes settling on Yugi's. He smiled, a slight lift of his lips as he squeezed Yugi's hand. The future was bound to be rocky, darkness and shadows a constant threat on their bond but, as the hikari of the pharaoh, Yugi knew everything would turn out alright.

A/N: You've reached the end of The Pharaoh's Hikari!

I will be posting a new Yami/Yugi story, separate from this storyline and universe, and the first chapter will be posted on Sunday, January 18. I will also be wrapping up The Thief's Hikari soon so that eventually, I can move on to telling the story of Malik and Mariku's meeting (set in this universe).

Thanks again for all your support!