STORY SUMMERY: Nearly a year has passed since Ya-'Atem' passed on, and things are no easier for Yuugi. However, in Egypt, a truth emerges from the sand, and everyone discovers a mistake they made that night a year ago. YxYY

STORY WARNINGS: Shonen-ai, Romance, Fluff, a bit of angst

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hey, thanks you guys for reading this! My very first Puzzleshipping, my first completed Yugioh fanfic, it's a lot of firsts, actually. I really enjoyed writing it. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the Holidays, as I definately will. And, if you're interested, make sure you check out the YGONCIS crossover sequel to this. It's going to be great. :D Happy Holidays!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

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CRAVING

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))Day: 19((

"… It's so cute. Did you get a picture?"

"Duh."

"Shh! Keep quiet!"

Yami woke to the sound a people talking in soft tones. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, but he knew that he was far too comfortable and far too warm to be bothered to move or investigate. He snuggled down closer to the large, heavy pillow he'd wrapped himself around and was content to slip back into sleep.

Until his pillow snuffled. Then Yami cracked open his eyelids and peaked down at the black pillow in his grip. Except his pillows were supposed to be white.

Yami lifted his head a little and blinked blearily at Yuugi, who lie beneath him. Sometime in Yuugi's talking, Yami had drifted off and Yuugi ended up as a human teddy bear. The shorter teen had pulled the blankets up and placed an arm around the taller teen, though, before finally nodding off himself. Of course, this pinned Yami's left arm beneath the other, but somehow it seemed so unimportant. Smiling softly, Yami reached up and brushed one of the teen's blond bangs away from his face.

"Oh my God, that is so adorable!"

And completely forgot about the others in the room.

Blushing, Yami glanced over his shoulder at the small group who'd gathered there. Marik; holding a digital camera, Anzu; grinning like a child in a toy store, Isis; looking entirely too smug, and, most embarrassing, Sugoroku; smiling knowingly at him, were all standing in his doorway. Marik snickered, looking over the tangled bed sheets.

"Maybe I should have asked what Yuugi seemed so nervous about last night, huh?" the blond joked. Yami scowled at him.

"Nothing happened!" he insisted, blushing darkly all the while. Anzu winked at him, and Yami almost wanted the Shadow Realm to pull him away. However, one glance at the sleeping teen beneath him made everything worth it. He turned around, crimson eyes bright with mischief.

"You're just jealous," he declared. "None of you will find anyone half as handsome as he is."

Marik snickered, and Anzu and Isis gave each other knowing looks. Sugoroku, noticing Yuugi's stirring form, turned around and began to usher them from the doorway. "Come now," he said, "let the two wake up before we pester them." He shut the door behind him, but not before his last statement squeaked through: "You will send me copies of those pictures, won't you?"

Yami frowned at the door, but his attention was brought back to the form beneath him when he mumbled something. Yami watched as Yuugi's eyes blinked a few times, and then opened wide when he realized Yami was looking down on him. Yuugi smiled at him, violet eyes bright.

"Good morning," he said.

Yami smiled back at him. "Good morning. Could you please get off my arm? I believe it's gone numb."

Yuugi blinked a few times before arching upwards, and Yami pulled his tingling limb from under him. Yuugi turned onto his side and Yami lay back down, this time facing Yuugi. The two stared at one another for a moment, as if trying to decide if it was really happening, at last. Yuugi reached over and touched Yami's face, shaking his head a bit. Yami reached up and covered his smaller hand.

"Until three days ago," Yuugi said, "I never thought this could happen. I tried so hard to move on. But then, this weird thing happened- I started craving beef."

Yami chuckled. "I suspect Isis told you about my own craving?"

"She did," Yuugi said with a smile, "and I take it you figured out what it meant?"

Yami nodded and smirked. "Apparently Hathor is the one who brought me back."

Yuugi blinked a few times. "The Goddess of Music?"

Yami pulled Yuugi's hand from his face and entwined their fingers. "And Love," he said softly.

Yuugi glanced at their hands before looking over at Yami, face flushing. "O-oh."

Yami, however, stared at the fingers. "I was so confused when we found out it was Hathor," Yami admitted. "I mean, I knew how I felt about you. When Isis suggested that love was the reason I was brought back, I couldn't believe it. Heartbreak, yes," Yami turned his eyes back to Yuugi's. "Love, no." He laughed a little. "So when you came in here and began to talk about getting it off your chest, I thought that you had figured it out, and was telling me it was okay, and just to get it off my chest so we could move on." His eyes softened and he scooted their bodies closer together. "I have never been more surprised, or happier, about spoken words before than when I heard you say… it."

Yuugi smiled a little, moving closer as well so they were barely an inch apart. "Oh?" he said softly, seeing Yami's bangs shift from his breath. "Maybe you need to hear it again?"

Yami's breathing shuddered a bit, and Yuugi smiled at him, squeezing their fingers again, as he had the night before. "I love you."

Yami smiled, closing his eyes for a moment as he savored the words and the warm, fluttery feeling they evoked in him. He reopened his eyes and saw a smug looking Yuugi lying there. Yami smirked at him, crimson eyes bright. "Really?" he whispered, shifting closing, so that their lips brushed against one another. "I love you, too."

At the same time, both shut their eyes and, in one motion, pressed together, lips meeting in a kiss. It was a soft, gentle, chaste kiss, neither moving nor struggling for dominance. There was no consuming hunger evident in their soft actions, lips moving slowly against one another, their hands finally parting, Yami's coming up to wrap around Yuugi's neck once more, while Yuugi's trailing down to Yami's side, where he gently trailed his fingers. The kiss wasn't about lust or desire or need or ownership. It was about joy, happiness, friendship, trust, passion.

It was about forever. It was about love.

Yami pulled back, opening his eyes slowly to see Yuugi just lying there, eyes closed and a smile on his face. The teen finally opened his eyes, and the warmth and emotion that glowed in their depths was enough to make Yami want to lie there all day and just stare into his eyes. However, his stomach gave a loud, gurgling noise and Yuugi laughed at him, patting the tanned teen's side.

"Well, let's get you to your food, oh mighty Pharaoh," Yuugi snickered, and rose from the bed. Yami rose himself a moment later, stretching a bit. Yuugi looked at himself in the floor-length mirror in the room, attached to the wall next to the bathroom door, frowning a bit.

"I can't believe I slept in my leather pants," he said in a disbelieving tone as he looked at the wrinkled black material. Yami walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around Yuugi's neck again, raising an eyebrow at their disheveled appearances. He snickered into his boyfriend's neck.

"So? I wore the clothing Atem died in," Yami replied. Yuugi shivered a bit and Yami looked up, staring into Yuugi's reflection. "You can borrow some of my pajamas to go down," Yami offered. "I have no desire to leave the house today."

Yuugi hummed softly. "Any black?" he asked. Yami smirked a little.

"I believe so. Isis went all out," he said. He led Yuugi to the dresser, and began to fish through the drawers. Yuugi leaned casually against it.

"So, you never told me what your real name is," Yuugi said. Yami looked up, holding out a black top for him.

"My real name?" he asked, raising an eyebrow before hunting for the matching bottoms. Yuugi nodded.

"Yes," Yuugi said. "We all know Kaiba's working on your birth certificate. If I'm dating you," they both paused and grinned at one another before Yuugi continued, "I want to at least know your name."

Yami chuckled, closing the drawer and holding out both a pair of pants and a set of boxers. "Isis must have known this was going to happen," he said, "because none of these are my size."

Yuugi scowled, taking the clothes from Yami. "Did anyone besides us not know?"

Yami shook his head, pulling out a set of green pajamas. "Jounouchi?" he offered. He then shook her head. "But, anyway," Yami cleared his throat, and held out his hand. "I am Yami Ishtar, adopted brother of Isis, Marik, and Rishid Ishtar. Born June twenty-fourth, 1990."

Yuugi took his hand, smiling at him. "It's good to meet you, Yami. Now, give me a moment to change."

Yami leaned down and pecked Yuugi on the lips, earning a brilliant smile from him. "I'll be waiting outside, since I, too, have to change." He lifted up his pajamas as proof. Then he winced a bit. "Besides, I don't want to go down alone- Marik apparently got pictures of us before we woke up."

Yuugi sighed, rolling his eyes, but smiled. "Mokuba said it's because we're so awesome all the time that they have to make fun of us while they can."

Yami grinned. "I like that explanation," he said. He stepped closer, pressing their lisp together in a longer, more passionate kiss. He pulled away, and Yuugi's eyes were a bit glazed over. "Although I prefer the one saying that they are all jealous of us."

Yuugi grinned at him, face slightly flushed, and moved towards the bathroom. "I like that one better myself. See you in a few," he said, and slipped inside. Yami watched the door for a few minutes before he turned around and walked out of his bedroom, head held high, and made his way towards the public restroom across the hall.

He was going to meet the firing squad, yes, but he wasn't going alone. He reached up and touched his chest, noticing that the aching, lost feeling had finally disappeared. Also, the craving for beef had vanished. Yami chuckled, shaking his head as he stepped into the smaller, dimmer, uglier bathroom.

'Ah,' he thought as he went to work banishing his clothes piece by piece, 'the things we do for those we love.'

And Yami smiled, leaning his head back against the wall. Because he was in love. Because he was loved.

And he planned to enjoy every minute of it.

))THE END((