It was normally a rather pleasant time of the day when afternoon arrived and Yugi got home. Atem liked seeing the small teen walk into the room, and showered him with questions and wonders over things he was learning over the days. Now he had gotten from movies to the internet, and his next and current step would be modern-day music. Things were fun, interesting and enjoyable when his partner thought him about them.

It all started when the ex-spirit heard the sound of the game-shop's door being opened.

"Ah, Aibou, you're here!" He greeted, turning his head from Yugi's computer, to see Yugi entering his room. "I've been eager to see you. I was wondering about this-" He tried, already opening a page on the screen, but was unexpectedly cut.

"Not right now, mou hitori no boku."

'Awkward' was probably the right adjective to describe the current situation going on, though.

That, or maybe 'Unnerving'.

Either way, Atem was only sure that things were certainly far from okay. Yugi, usually cheerful and patient, had gotten home from school with a face that carried a frown, a voice that was hoarse and dry, and answers that were short and unusually cold.

"…Aibou?"

Yugi looked down, realizing he had been a little harsh with his tone.

"I'm sorry." He said, releasing a sigh. "I've just…had a bad day. Sorry, but I'm not really in the mood to deal with anything right now."

"Oh, I understand…" Atem said, though he honestly didn't understand at all. He saw Yugi simply drop his backpack, take the school-jacket off and open his bed to curl up undercover in a way he was facing the wall. "…But Aibou, what happened?"

He heard Yugi sigh again. That sound actually was painful to hear.

"It's been happening for a few days, actually, and it's mostly stress. I'm having problems with my grades, work is piling up, there're issues going on with my friends… It's just becoming a little overwhelming, you know?" Yugi explained, trying his hardest to keep his voice steady and clear. "So right now, it would be really nice to just fall asleep and wake up and pretend everything's okay tomorrow. Have a little rest."

"Aibou, you usually aren't like this. You're much more optimistic, and you always find a way out to face your problems." Atem reminded, placing a hand in Yugi's shoulder, trying to make the teen look at him. "You're usually the one making everyone feel stronger…"

Yugi moved a little to brush Atem's hand away. "I know, but…just not today, okay?"

Atem waited for Yugi to say something else, but he never did. A rather awkward and uncomfortable silence filled the room, and Atem only released a very small sigh. When he understood that Yugi would not wake up nor answer anything else, he decided to give him the space he needed and took his computer to another room.

When Yugi heard the door to his room close, he sat up and sighed again. He was grateful to Atem for understanding his situation and giving him his alone-time, but he couldn't help but to feel a little sad for having to go with the stress and slight anguish by himself and take it out on his friend. He wanted to reach for his school-bag to at least get some homework done and get his iPod hear some music to kill time, but was mildly surprised to not see it at the floor.

Then, he heard something he vaguely recognized. A little muffled, thanks to the fact that his door was closed and it came from another room, but it was definitely something he knew. Was it a song?

-You stand in the line just to hit a new low

You're faking a smile with the coffee you go

You tell me your life's been way off line

You're falling to pieces every time

And I don't need no carryin' on

…Oh, this had to be some kind of joke.

Because you had a bad day

You're taking one down

You sing a sad song just to turn it around

You say you don't know

You tell me don't lie

You work at a smile and you go for a ride

You had a bad day

The camera don't lie

You're coming back down and you really don't mind

You had a bad day

You had a bad day

Yugi couldn't help it. The frown he had been wearing slowly turned into a small, but sincere smile as he shook his head and a little relieved sigh escaped his mouth.

"Mou hitori no boku?" Yugi called, as he opened his grandfather's room's door, to find Atem sitting on the floor with the laptop on his lap, and with his own iPod connected to small-speakers. Atem smiled when he looked up to Yugi.

"This 'music' of yours, Aibou, is pretty amazing." He said, relieved to see no frown on Yugi's face, "It described perfectly what you were looking like right now, and what you described."

Yugi couldn't help to chuckle at Atem's childlike-wonder, as he sat next to him and faced him with a calm smile.

"Yeah, I know. But I find it a little more amazing that you knew how to play it and all when I haven't thought you yet."

"Ah. Your time on school is long, and Jii-chan is as knowledgeable in these aspects as I am, so we sort of figure these things out when you aren't around." Atem declared, making Yugi laugh by the way he had compared his grandfather to himself.

"You…did this in purpose? To cheer me up?" Yugi wondered, making Atem smirk.

"Perhaps. Or maybe I just wanted to show you that I actually could put music on my own accord?" Atem joked, crossing his arms to show Yugi a little wink that practically gave away his real answer.

There was a pause, and Yugi just smiled widely.

"Thanks, mou hitori no boku."

Atem just nodded in acknowledgement, and rested his hand in Yugi's shoulder.

"Anytime, Aibou."

For a moment, things were as lighthearted and fun as they usually were, and Yugi felt grateful for that; like bad days just didn't exist when he had Atem by his side. Actually, right after sharing this little moment, the stressing situations simply went momentarily away from his mind, and it was as if the bad day hadn't happened at all.

After finishing his homework, Yugi showed Atem a little more about music.

End.