Title: Reunion

Author: RuRuLaLa

Rating: T

Pairing: Atemu/Yugi

Genre: Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance

Disclaimer: RuRuLaLa does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its concepts or characters. All rights belong to Konami and Kazuki Takahashi.

Summary: Ten years after the Ceremonial Duel Yugi is invited to his High School Reunion. What should be an enjoyable night of reuniting and reminiscing with old but loved friends, turns into something else entirely…

Warning(s): Alternate Universe. Mentions of violence. Slight sexual situations. Minor coarse language.

Additional Notes: I hope you all enjoy the story! Please review and make a author very happy! :D

~oOo~

Domino was truly an ageless city. A year of being away overseas and the same buildings still stood in business, the same houses painted the same colors, even his grandfather remained his same spry and perverted self.

Speaking of perverted, it was plain to see the corner of a hentai manga peeking behind a gamer magazine his grandpa was holding up to his face.

"Didn't Super Nintendos go out of style years ago, gramps?" Yugi said, startling his grandpa into dropping the magazine and revealing the Bikini Beach Patrol Volume 3 he had been so enthralled with. "Ooooh, I see. That system is timeless there," he deadpanned as he spotted a particularly scantily clad lady in the first panel. "I don't think you can sell that in the shop."

Sugoroku Mutou chuckled heartily. "Ah Yugi M'boy! Of course I wouldn't sell that up front. That's for management eyes only," he said with a lecherous wink.

Yugi rolled his eyes and then went around the counter to give his grandfather a big hug. Even though Yugi had his own apartment his grandfather had insisted they stay at the Kame Game Shop for a few weeks when he returned from his business trip to America. His excuse being that he needed a while to reacquaint his grandson with his memory after such a long absence. Yugi didn't mind a bit though. He loved his grandfather and spending time with the crazy old coot was no effort on his part.

"What's all the laughter about?" Atemu grunted as he struggled to bring in all their bags through the door.

"Nothing Atem, gramps is just reading porn again!"

"Shhhh Yugi! You can't say things like that in front of customers!"

Yugi looked around the decidedly empty game shop.

"It's a figure of speech Yugi, honestly! You never know when impressionable ears are about!"

"What…but that makes no…" Yugi sighed. "Never mind. Oh, mou hitori no boku be careful!" he exclaimed as the tower of bags Atemu held started to sway precariously. It was so high that only the crimson tips of Atemu's hair could be seen. He went up to his other half and lover and tried to help the ex-Pharaoh keep his balance.

"It is fine aibou, I have it – gah!" The suitcases started to topple the second the words left his mouth, but before they could fall to the floor dark energy surrounded the bags, making them float in the air. Atemu held out his now purple and black glowing hand, the other planted on his hip confidently, controlling the levitating bags with ease. "See aibou, no trouble at all."

"No Shadow Magic in the shop!" Grandpa calmly gave him a good whomp on the back of the head with his magazine. His concentration shot by the unexpected jolt to his cranium, the magic quickly dissipated and Atemu found himself buried under his own cargo.

"Atem! Are you ok!" Yugi cried as he quickly moved the heavy bags before his lover suffocated.

Atemu sat up with a groan, his legs still half buried in luggage. "Oooooh grandfather…that was uncalled for," he growled the last part lowly, giving Grandfather Mutou his fiercest evil eye.

"I'll have none of that Ancient Egyptian Houcs-hooha going on where everyone can see it," Grandpa continued, completely unrepentant. He started up the stairs, his voice carrying as he continued to rant at them: "You'll scare all my customers away at this rate. And just when I was turning this business into a respectable one…"

Yugi shook his head at his grandfather's antics, continuing to move aside the remaining bags imprisoning Atemu. "Good to be home, eh?"

Atemu rubbed the back of his sore head. A lump was probably going to form there in a few minutes. Damn that old man had a good arm. "Yes, it feels like we never left," he chuckled.

~oOo~

When they finally managed to drag all of their luggage into Yugi's old room, they set them aside to be unpacked later. They were going to be leaving soon anyway so there was no point of going through the hassle of sorting through their things. Granted, a majority of the items in the bags were Atemu's, and those were made up of shiny souvenirs and leather boots he had purchased during their trip. He was wearing a great deal of them right now; several gold and silver hoop earrings of varying sizes adorned his left ear, a few necklaces (one with a small inverted pyramid that Yugi had gifted him) wrapped around his neck along with his leather choker, bronze bracelets wrapped around his wrists and biceps, and a ring or two donned his fingers. All of which he fiddled with whenever he was bored or restless. If Yugi hadn't seen his memories for himself he would swear that Atemu was a cat in his past life.

"Hey look what I found aibou!" Atemu proudly held up a fake jewel that undoubtedly fell off of one of Yugi's old toys. "This would look great on a bracelet, yes?"

'Hmm, Neko neko Pharaoh indeed.' Suddenly the most glorious image of Atemu wearing cat ears, a tail, his old Egyptian crown and nothing else appeared in his mind. "Oh the role playing possibilities," Yugi muttered.

"What was that Yugi?"

"I said it would look better as a necklace, love."

"Mmm, you are probably right." Atemu joined Yugi on his old bed, wrapping an arm around his smaller lover, to which Yugi leaned in to happily.

Yugi and Atemu liked to do this often, with Yugi snuggled into Atemu's arms and Atemu holding him protectively…merely basking in each other's presence. They worked in the same industry; Yugi was the head of the Games and Development Department at Kaiba Corp while Atemu was their Game Tester. They often saw each other for lunch and for short periods in the building. That is if they weren't working on the same project – in which case they interacted with each other even more than that.

Despite being near each other a great deal of their day it simply wasn't the same as just sitting together in the silence of their home, kissing languidly or talking about whatever came to mind in quiet tones.

"I can't believe Seto convinced me to go through with this," Yugi murmured.

"You don't want to go? Isn't this Reuniting of High Schools supposed to be a celebration? And these are fun events, yes?"

Yugi chuckled as Atemu muddled up the name. Atemu had come a long way in understanding modern culture since gaining a body after the Ceremonial Duel, but the most random things seemed to remain beyond his comprehension. For instance; he could take apart and rebuild one of Kaiba's super computers with ease, but put him in front of a can opener (a non electric one mind) and it could frustrate him to the point of banishing it to the Shadow Realm. Yugi would always remember catching Atemu in the kitchen gnawing on a can opener (replacement number five) in impotent furry. Ahh, thank the gods Yugi hid the camera before the ex-Pharaoh could send that to the Shadow Realm too. Heh, heh.

"It's 'High School Reunion' mou hitori no boku, and yes they're supposed to be fun...I just don't have very many fond memories of high school, you know?"

Atemu made a soft noise of agreement. If anyone understood the torment Yugi went through his high school years before he solved the puzzle, then it was his Yami.

"Do you really not want to go? We could always skip out, make our excuses."

"Noooo," Yugi said lowly with a long suffering sigh, "I already promised Kaiba I'd be there. At least we'll get to see Ryou and Otogi-kun again." Ryou had followed in his father's footsteps by working in archeology, which left him in remote countries for months at a time, and Otogi stayed in San Francisco a majority of the time managing his own gaming company. It was rare that they saw Anzu as well, since she worked in New York as a Broadway dancer, but Atemu and Yugi tried to keep in virtual contact with her – be it Skype or Instant Messages. "It'll be good to see the rest of the gang too. I know they all work out here but it's been awhile since we hung out as a group."

His Darker Half merely nodded to that, as he lazily planted kisses down Yugi's neck and ran his fingers through his blond bangs. Yugi mewled softly at the touch. He tilted his head to the side, eyes falling closed as Atemu slowly kissed his way up Yugi's neck until he reached the bottom of his ear, nibbling lightly on the delicate lobe.

Yugi gasped, arching his back. "Oh! Mou hitori no boku!" he said breathlessly.

"Mmm, you taste so good my little one," Atemu murmured around his ear. His hands sneakily crept up the front of Yugi's black turtleneck, caressing the little one's creamy skin. "So beautiful."

"We have to leave in a little while Atem, flat – FLATTERY will g-get – AH! Oh gods!" Yugi couldn't even finish his sentence as his Darker Half ran his fingers over his sensitive nipple.

"Will get me everywhere, I know," Atemu said with a smirk, voice lowering with lust. He ran his other hand over the crotch of his little one's grey slacks, which was already tented.

Yugi moaned with need. He had to clutch his Dark's shirt to keep from bucking into that devious hand that was expertly undoing his belt buckle. The little one turned to his beloved, amethyst eyes darkening to violet from pleasure and love. They clashed with his lover's dark crimson orbs, the fires of passion dancing steadily as he prepared to take his darling little one to soaring heights –

"NO HANKY PANKY IN THE HOUSE!"

Yugi and Atemu sprung apart so fast that they both fell to the floor, Yugi on his back and Atemu on his face, ass in the air and arms akimbo (this really wasn't the ex-Pharaoh's night).

Like the avenging cock-blocker that he was, Grandpa peeked through the doorway with a smirk. "At least wait until I fall asleep first." And then he cackled his merry way back to the living room, probably to go watch more of his Romance/borderline hentai/drama movies.

"Is it just me," Atemu started, his voice somewhat muffled as he had yet to move from his position, "or has grandfather become more sadistic since the last time we saw him?"

"Ugh, gramps said 'hanky panky'."

~oOo~

The drive to Domino High was…terrifying, but what could Yugi expect when he allowed Atemu behind the wheel? It had been a long time since Atemu had driven (with good reason!) so he insisted that the tame traffic of Domino offered a perfect opportunity for some practice…

"Red means stop Atem…No we can't take a short cut through the park…Ok, you need to go 25 miles per hour at this turn – no 25 not 55 – I SAID 25 – 25!"

Yugi clutched his armrest for dear life as Atemu drifted their little Hyundai into a parallel parking spot.

Atemu shut the motor off and turned to Yugi with a proud smile, as if he hadn't just driven like a bat out of hell moments before. "So how did I do, aibou?"

Yugi, his face retaining some remnants of terror, said with a tremulous smile: "Uh-mmm, well I think it was better than last time." Anything was better than weaving through cars at top speed on the freeway…going the opposite direction of traffic.

"I thought so too." Atemu frowned in concern as he finally noticed the state Yugi was in. "Are you alright aibou? You're shaking." He gently pried Yugi's small hand from its death grip, caressing it soothingly. The remainder of his frazzled nerves melted away. Aw, who could stay upset at such a face?

...CLANG! The bumper on the car fell off...

Sane people, obviously.

"Let's just go inside."

The event was being held in the school gym. The basketball hoops and stands were folded away to make room for the guests. Streamers decorated the walls and balloons floated to the ceiling or deflated to the floor, all in their blue and white school colors. A long table with food and name tags for all of the alumni on it was pushed against one wall while small round tables were arranged throughout the room. A stage and podium had been set up against the back wall and a large flat screen T.V. displaying Welcome Back Class of '98!(1) hung above it.

It seemed that a large amount of Yugi's former classmates had shown up. He recognized most of them as people who either bullied or ridiculed him at some point, much to his dismay. Yugi sincerely hoped no one decided to be confrontational tonight.

"Well look what the Kuriboh dragged in!"

Yugi smiled hugely. He'd recognize that loud obnoxious voice anywhere. The small young man turned around to face his tall and blond counterpart, his peanut butter to his jelly, his heterosexual life mate…

He really hated it when he called him that last one, Yugi thought with a snicker.

"Jounouchi-kun!"

Jounouchi picked him up into a headlock and gave him a noogie as easily as if they were 14 years old again. "Hey Yug' ol' pal! How was the trip to the U.S. of A?"

Yugi giggled as he wriggled out of his grasp. "Oh you know, same old boring business stuff."

"What, Kaiba-jerk-chan didn't let you guys have any fun the whole time you were there? Ain't that labor abuse or something? You should sue him – can we sue him?"

Yugi laughed, straightening out his shirt and then readjusting Jounouchi's rather smart suit. His best friend had made quite the name for himself in Domino and all around Japan as the host of the local radio station. It was not a career any of his friends had expected of him but Yugi could definitely see that it suited his energetic best friend. "No we can't sue him and no he didn't make us work the whole time. We took a bunch of tours in L.A., saw the sights…Disney Land was great, right mou hitori no boku?"

"Hm, very impressive. I was quite taken with Space Mountain."

"I know, we only rode it about 20 times," Yugi said wryly.

Atemu nodded, unabashed. "Very impressive."

Jounouchi grinned, wrapping Atemu in a hearty one armed hug. Yugi had always been vaguely aware of it, but when the ex-Pharaoh was standing next to his best friend the fact that he had grown quite a bit taller since his reincarnation really hit Yugi. Meanwhile Yugi remained his same teeny self since he was 14. He supposed having his beloved literally conjured up by magic, a great job that he enjoyed, and most of his friends close by was a small price to pay for his lack of height…and muscles…

It still sucked balls though.

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun…except for when Atem almost pummeled Mickey Mouse."

Jounouchi laughed wildly, likely at the image of Atemu challenging a beloved Disney character to a Shadow Game…which is exactly what happened."Mickey Mouse, Até? Really? You're amazing pal! Only you, I swear."

"Please don't encourage him Jounouchi-kun."

Atemu folded his arms across his chest stubbornly, frowning. "He grabbed you."

"He was just trying to get me in a picture with the other kids."

Atemu's frown remained in place, if not more forbidding at the memory of what had happened. "You're whole upper arm was bruised."

"So you decked him one, right?" Jounouchi was still grinning but now there was a sharper edge to it at the news that Yugi had been hurt. The small young man sighed in defeat. There was no point arguing when his friends got all protective like this. Ugh, he wouldn't dare bring up the It's A Small World incident now. Hours after the entire thing went down and Yugi had barely convinced Atemu to not give the ride conductors a Penalty Game.

"Yes, if this 'decking' means I kicked that offensive individual in the chest and proceeded to stomp his face into the ground consecutively?"

"…Um"

"Sadly, my vengeance was cut short because a few misguided Security Guards threatened to remove us from the park. I'm sure they would have understood if they were made aware of the wicked heart masked beneath his cartoonish buffoonery and how he violently attacked my poor defenseless aibou. I would have happily explained this to them but Kaiba chose to step in and said that Mind Crushing this Michael Rat character would be bad for the press."

Jounouchi stared at him for a moment, amber eyes wide with a mixture of fear and incredulous amusement. America must have brought out some of the homicidal tendencies that Atemu was usually so good at repressing. "Eh heh…it's times like these that I'm really glad we're on the same team, bud."

"Of course," Atemu nodded firmly, "I have always valued you as a great friend and comrade. Obviously you will stand by my maxim of Mind Crush first, ask questions later against Kaiba next time."

"Sure thing p – wait what?"

"Atem!" Yugi hissed. "Ixnay on the Mind Cush-ay."

"Who's Mind Crushing what now?"

Yugi whirled around at the new voice. Bakura Ryou stood behind them dressed casually in khaki pants and a white button up. His long snowy white hair was tied back loosely and his chocolate brown eyes were weary, but as always happy to see his friends.

"Ryou! You made it!" He pulled his fellow Hikari into a hug without further preamble. By now they had garnered the attention of a lot of their fellow alumni with all the big shows of affection, but Yugi didn't care. The small young man was a very tactile person, and that hadn't changed in the 10 years since he graduated from high school. "Let's go grab a table before they all fill up."

"Yeah let's – hey is that Honda over there?" Before anyone could confirm or deny his claim, Jounouchi proceeded to gain his attention in typical Jounouchi fashion, "OI HONDA!" He waved his arms about wildly. "WE'RE OVER HERE! NOT THERE YA IDIOT OVER HERE! Sheesh is that guy getting blind in his old age, or what?"

Ryou picked at his ear with a wince. "20 hour flight, plus Jonouchi's voice of maximum power, equals massive headache for Ryou," he groaned.

Yugi guided him to his seat, petting his hair in sympathy. "You've been gone so long you've lost all your Jounouchi-loudness immunities."

"Well, I'll be here for two months so that should be enough time to build them up again."

"Christ dude! People in China can hear you!" Honda said as he walked up to their table and plopped tiredly in an empty seat. "You're voice is not what I want to hear as soon I get off work."

"Hey shaddup! I ain't that loud asshole!"

"You're so loud I'm surprised you don't break the mics at your radio station!"

"How about I go get us some drinks?"

Far from being upset at the prospect of being left with the arguing duo (who were now pulling each other's cheeks like a couple of school girls), Yugi smiled up at his love and requested a root beer. Ryou asked for a shot of Vodka.

"That's not going to help your headache," Yugi deadpanned.

Ryou said, through gritted teeth and a slight growl that would do Yami Bakura proud, "Yes it will."

Atemu felt a little reluctant to leave now, but when Yugi gave him a peck on the cheek and shooed him off in that adorable way of his the ex-Pharaoh could do not more but obey.

~oOo~

For anyone else, trying to walk while balancing five drinks in medium sized plastic cups would seem like a difficult task. But Atemu Sennen (an apt family name chosen by his clever aibou) was not anyone else. He treated any obstacle – especially those that sought to make his aibou unhappy – as if it were a game to be won and summarily banished to the Shadow Realm. Thus he held the cups stacked in pyramid formation on his forearms and hands, three on one side and four on the other. He assumed that Otogi and Anzu would be joining them soon (to account for the extra drinks) but if they didn't show up then that just left more for Yugi. His little one always seemed to have trouble eating and his weight tended to fluctuate dangerously towards anorexic. He didn't know what the cause could be, but he would be damned if he didn't find out.

And fix it.

Three scantily dressed women stepped into his path, halting his slow albeit steady progress.

"Hey there," the girl slightly in front said; Suzuki Aiko according to her nametag. "That's a pretty cool trick," she nodded towards the cups. "I bettcha play a lot of beer pong, eh?"

Atemu frowned. Now what did the outdated but vastly entertaining video game have to do with alcohol? Ah, it must be another modern colloquialism he hadn't deciphered yet. It seemed as time went on more and more ridiculous sounding words were made to stand for insipid adjectives. It never ceased to amaze him how this era found so many ways to waste time.

"No, I'm afraid I am not familiar with that…game." Or whatever it was.

"Oh yeah, I was never really into that game either. It's mostly for frat boys and freshmen, ya know," she said rather unconvincingly.

"Hmm." Atemu craned his head around the three – eight? Where had they materialized from? – women surrounding him, trying to find an opening to slip by and continue with his destination.

"So what class were you in?" she glanced at his chest where his notably absent name tag would be. Atemu frowned as her gaze lingered. Was there something on his sleeveless shirt? He certainly hoped not; this was the last one that did not have rips in them as a result of Yugi's enthusiasm during their passions. He supposed it would give him an excuse to buy some more, one could never have too many leather tops…

"…on the basketball team or prom king. It's weird that I don't remember you. I mean I pretty much keep in contact with everyone important that graduated our year, you must have kept a low profile…"

Was she still nattering on? The twelve other girls nodded along with Suzuki, adding their two cents in about his supposed popularity. "Actually, I have never attended this school."

"Oh, so you came with someone?"

"Yes, Mutou Yugi."

"You came with him?" Atemu narrowed his crimson eyes at the scathing tone in her voice. Was she one of those who had bullied his aibou? There were so many in this Ra damned school, and he could only remember the ones that had been outlandishly cruel to his little one from the time they had shared a body, as at that point it was the only time he could come out of the puzzle. Once he had the strength (and sanity) to come out on his own Yugi had made good friends in Honda and Jounouchi and they had mostly kept the more violent tormentors away.

Of course the ex-Pharaoh knew that violence wasn't the only way to hurt someone. How many people like this Suzuki woman had Yugi had to endure before Atemu was released from the puzzle? Hell, after he was released!

"So are you guys roommates or something? That must be interesting." She smiled as if they were sharing some inside joke at Yugi's expense.

Much as he would like to completely obliterate her and be done with it, Atemu knew Yugi did not want another incident like the Michael Rat one. But how to get by in a peaceable fashion? Ah, he could always say something socially awkward. Most of the time he would do this without even trying, but there were occasions where he would spout out something discomforting to get people to leave him be.

"No, I'm his sex slave."

Suzuki choked on thin air, sputtering: "Wh-wha?"

Suddenly an arm carefully looped its way around his elbow. Atemu turned sharply towards the offender, just barely keeping from attacking the individual with extreme prejudice for their presumption. Oh but the gods were trying his patience this night.

It was a good thing too, as he would not like to disappoint his aibou by spilling the drinks everywhere.

…and he would not be too pleased if he Mind Crushed Anzu either.

"Hey Atem! I was starting to get worried that you got lost for a second. Meet some new friends over here?" Anzu said, pulling him a little closer to her with a smile.

"Hello Anzu. I was just explaining to your former classmates how I pleasure Yugi sexually for his amusement."

Anzu was off his arm with an indignant squawk in a split second, luckily without jarring any of the drinks. "I – you – wha?"

"Speaking of which, I really must get back to my table, lest I incur a delightful spanking from my master for being untimely. It was a pleasure speaking to you ladies…coming Anzu?"

Anzu nodded mutely, and as they walked around the now stunned group of girls Atemu heard one of them mutter; "Mutou Yugi, who knew he had it in him? Lucky fucker."

Perhaps his plan had worked a little too well. Damnit, he hoped he hadn't sparked another fan club.

After they got a good distance away from the girls Anzu finally spoke again. "So here I come trying to rescue you from the vultures but as usual you have everything under control."

"Rescue me?"

Anzu waved her hand flippantly. "You know, pretend to be your girlfriend to get them to buzz off."

"I see. Thank you for the attempt."

"Yeah. So ah…you and Yugi are still together?"

"Oh yes! It has been a wonderful ten years with Yugi," Atemu said, smiling beatifically as he spoke of his favorite subject – the other two being gaming and baiting Kaiba.

Anzu chuckled at his enthusiasm. "The way you say that makes you sound like a married couple."

"Hmm, we have been thinking about it."

"Really!" Atemu gave her an odd look at her reaction. "I – I mean, don't you think it's a little sudden for that?"

Atemu frowned. "I do not think 10 years is sudden." The only reason they hadn't wed earlier was because they were waiting for the Kouseishousho(2) legislative to pass before they had a traditional ceremony out of the country. Yugi, considerate soul that he was, wanted to make sure all of his P's and Q's were straight so nothing could reflect badly on Kaiba Corp.

"Well I know that!" She laughed again, but it sounded a bit forced to Atemu's keen ear. "It's just…you shared a body for two years, and then the second you get your own body you two jump into a relationship…it just seems like you haven't had a chance to explore any other options."

"He hardly forced me to be with him, Anzu."

"I know, I know! Yugi would never do that…at least not on purpose. It doesn't seem like he's made it clear that he's not the center of your universe just because he's helped you with your memories."

"I'm not sure what you're getting at." Nor did he approve of the insinuation that Yugi was manipulating him.

Anzu put her hands in a placating gesture. "All I'm saying is that marriage is a big commitment and you shouldn't get in to something like that based on gratitude. Just think about it, ok?"

Atemu was irritated with what Anzu was not so subtly alluding to, but it wasn't anything he hadn't heard from Yugi before. Especially during the beginning of their relationship. And if there was any harsher critic of his precious aibou's character then it was Yugi himself.

It had taken a long time to convince his sweet little one, but Atemu loved Yugi with his whole heart and not as a result of some kind of unintentional Stockholm syndrome. He felt no need to defend his feelings to anyone, least of all Anzu, so he said nothing else to her until he returned to their table. As long as she did not interfere in their affairs he would let her think as she would.

But the gods help her if she said anything to bring back Yugi's old insecurities (3).

~oOo~

As the night wore on Yugi found himself becoming wearier despite his friends' good cheer. Yugi could feel more and more stares on his back from his old school mates, could hear their derisive whispers of what that loser Mutou Yugi thought he was doing sitting next to so many famous people.

And then there was Anzu.

He had been so happy to see his friend in person after such a long time, but she didn't seem nearly as enthused. In fact, ever since she had appeared with Atemu she had been rather cool towards him. Anything he said to her earned either short, impatient responses or vague noises. Yugi didn't think it was a random bad mood either, as she seemed as friendly as ever to the rest of the gang. Whereas she spoke to him like one of Kaiba's business partners he was sometimes forced to interact with; reluctant and barely tolerating his presence.

"So, are you two settled back in at your place yet?" Ryou asked Yugi, happily nursing his cup of champagne (the only alcoholic beverage available).

"No, we haven't even stopped by our apartment since we got here. Gramps wants us to stay at the Game Shop – probably so he can have some free labor for a few weeks."

"Sounds like Grandpa," Ryou chuckled. "I checked in my hotel before I came here. It's going to be a bitch unpacking everything."

"Ooooh hotel?" Jounouchi chimed in. "Is it a swankey spot?"

"I'd say so yeah. It's a really nice room with an indoor Jacuzzi and everything. It's even nicer since the company's paying for everything."

"Wha? How'd you pull that off!"

"By working almost 20 hour days and never taking any sick leave or vacation time," the white haired boy said with a rueful smile. "I originally asked for only the week off, but as soon as I put the request in my boss tore it up and pretty much ordered me to take the two months off."

Yugi furrowed his brow, amethyst eyes shining in concern. "You have to be careful Ryou, you don't want to work yourself sick do you?"

Ryou's eyebrows shot up incredulously. "This coming from the guy who stays extra hours to help out his coworkers without pay?"

"How'd you know about that!" Yugi meeped.

"I have my ways."

Yugi glared sullenly at Atemu, who didn't even bother to look guilty. "Tattle tale," he muttered.

"I can't believe you guys have turned into such workaholics," Jounouchi said, shaking his head in exaggerated disappointment.

"Hey, not all of us have hours that let us sleep till two in the afternoon," said Honda.

"Nobody told you to open your own restaurant," the blond shot back, referring to Honda's Motorcycle Café themed restaurant he had bought out a few years ago.

"So Anzu!" Ryou said before more playful bickering could break out. "Are you staying with your parents too?"

"Ah, n-no. We um…we haven't really spoken since I moved to New York." Her blue eyes stayed fixed on her drink as she said this, while Yugi and the others exchanged concerned glances. Anzu's family had never been very enthusiastic about her dancing. They were of the opinion that it was a waste of time and that she should be pursuing a more lucrative career; like a doctor or lawyer. When Anzu made it clear that her dancing was not a passing fancy and that she was moving to the states, the family Mazki had a huge argument. That had happened eight years ago though.

"I'm really sorry, Anzu," Ryou said, sympathy reflecting in his brown eyes.

"Jeeze, they're still on about that?" said Jounouchi, thumbing his nose at the very thought. "If they can't get their heads out of their asses and support your dream then they ain't worth your time."

"Yes, we'll always support you Anzu," said Atemu, Honda nodding along with them.

Anzu smiled, eyes a little tearful. "Thanks guys. I know they're being ridiculous about this, but it still hurts. They're my family you know?"

"They're probably just being stubborn at this point Anzu," said Ryou, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "They don't want to admit they're in the wrong, so you might have to be the bigger person and talk to them first." He smiled ruefully. "We've all been there, it'll work out."

Yugi felt a jolt of pain in his heart at the looks of sad understanding from all of his friends. They had all had their fair share of family issues. Ryou had pretty much spent his childhood alone after his mother and sister died, his father providing him with everything he would need to survive…with the exception of his love and support. Jounouchi's father had been a gambling drunk and was as mentally absent from Jounouchi's life as Ryou's was physically. Even Honda had not had it easy; being the middle child of five, Honda was often overlooked by his parents for his siblings' accomplishments, despite being vastly intelligent himself.

"I guess we can't all have the perfect family like Yugi here."

The table went silent. Anzu's words would normally not have gotten anyone in a tizzy, if not for the clear bitterness in her tone that stung like acid going down the throat. Yugi's hand unconsciously tightened around his cup as he silently willed someone to change the subject.

"Seesh Anzu, you make it sound like it's a bad thing that Yug's got a stable family," Jounouchi finally said. He was never one for tense silences…or any silence for that matter.

"Yeah," Honda piped up, with an awkward sort of chuckle, "that's probably why he's the sanest out of all us. It's a good thing his parents –" The tall brunet cut himself off, a confused frown slowly appearing on his face. A frown mirrored by everyone but Yugi at the table. More than likely, they all had the same thoughts running through their heads at that moment…

In the 17 years they had known him, not once had they seen or heard about Yugi's parents. Hell, they didn't even know if they were dead or not!

"Say uh, Yug'?" Jounouchi started carefully.

"Does anyone want anything to eat? I'm going to get something to eat." Yugi stood up before anyone could give an answer. Atemu made to go with him, his crimson eyes resonating with worry. Yugi squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. He was fine, the gesture said, just need a few moments alone. The small young man could see that his lover was not pleased with this, but at this point Atemu had learned when to comfort and when to allow space (much as he hated to do so when his aibou was obviously in distress), and now was the time to allow space.

So as Atemu prevented – in that authoritative way of his that even countless millennia of not being a political leader could not erase – Jounouchi and Honda from going after him, Yugi made his way to the food table. Trying to breathe, trying to push back memories that had no business resurfacing, not when he was so content with life now.

The table was laden with finger foods, more expensive than one would expect a public high school would be able to provide. Of course, when Kaiba Seto was one of your alumni and donated regularly to your school to fulfill his charity quota, caviar and truffles weren't out of the realm of possibility.

Yugi grabbed one of the larger plates and filled it with food his friends and Atemu would like. He didn't bother to get much for himself; he'd pretty much lost his appetite for the night…and probably for the rest of the week. He sighed at the prospect of having to create alarms to remind himself to eat again. And he had been doing so well this past month too…

"Hey Mutou! Is that you?" Yugi turned to face a group of – unfortunately – very familiar faces.

Sato Fumiko, Takahashi Gina, Inoue Alfonse, and Yoshida Hideki (4) stood before him with smiles a great deal less malevolent than they had been in high school. They had all been among the popular crowd, along with the head cheerleader Suzuki Aiko. All of them were good-looking and a part of some sport or club or event that only the coolest were invited to. In the eyes of students and teachers alike they could do no wrong, as evidenced by when Hideki had tied Yugi to the tether-ball pole in front of the whole school during his freshman year. Yugi was almost a hundred percent certain that among everyone in their school the four of them were voted Most Likely To Succeed in the Yearbook.

"Ha, I'd recognize that freaky hair style anywhere," Hideki said, the grin on his face and the lightness in his tone taking only some of the bite out of the insult.

"Hello Hideki-san, how are you guys doing tonight?" Yugi said with a polite nod in everyone's general direction. He kept his amethyst eyes steady and posture straight though. He wasn't 14 anymore and for damn sure wasn't the same otaku (5) who let people walk all over him for no reason…he was the otaku that pushed when it came to shove now…

But only as a last resort, of course. Jounouchi, Honda and especially Atemu (Yugi was going to have to have another talk with him about not Mind Crushing all of his problems away) hadn't rubbed off on him that much.

"I'm good. Pretty tired though, just got off work at the hospital before I came here," Hideki said rather smugly.

"Oh! You're a doctor?"

"Yes. Well, I mean I practically am…I've pretty much finished with everything."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Yugi said excitedly. He had thought about going into medicine briefly before he found his true calling. "You've passed the MCAT's and finished Medical School at this age! And I'm not too familiar with the Residency Training Period but I heard that can take like eight years! So are you in Emergency Medicine, Neurology, Pediatrics…?"

Hideki suddenly flushed brightly as his eyes darted every which way. "Er, w-well I'm in…I mean I'm uh…part of the uh –"

"He's an intern!" Fumiko put in over Hideki's sputtering. She looped their arms together and leaned towards him. The two had been together in high school and it seemed that they had remained a couple. "He's got to put in lots of hours."

Yugi waited for her to elaborate, but after a few moments it was clear she was satisfied with her…explanation. "Um that's…good."

"Anyway! I've been in to modeling these days." She flipped her long black hair over her shoulder, gracing Yugi with a dazzling smile as if she were on a shoot at that moment.

"That's really nice Fumiko-san. Are you in one of those fancy fashion magazines?"

"Well I'm in between school and work right now. It's only a matter of time before I'm scouted."

"Oh. Where do you go to school then?"

"It's uh, actually an online course, but that's not really my focus," she added hurriedly. "I've already sent in an application for Japan's Next Top Model (6). As soon as I win I'll never have to worry about school or work again and Hideki-koi can quit his job at Burger Wo – UH! The Hospital. I meant he could quit at the Hospital." Yugi blinked at the slip, but when he didn't comment on it she flashed another winning smile. "Maybe I'll even put in a good word for you Mutou, once I'm famous."

"…Thank you?" Yugi said slowly. "So what about you Gina-san? Alfonse-san?"

"Oh I've been great!" Alfonse boomed while Gina made a noise of agreement. Back in school Alfonse was the epitome of a jock; strong, handsome, and keeping his grades high enough to stay on the basketball team. Now though…well he wasn't ugly or anything like that, but that luscious chestnut hair that all the girls used to squee about had receded to the back of his head and his six-pack was not more than flab now… "'Graduated Domino U a little while ago. Gonna go to the NBA tryouts in a couple of months." He bounced on the balls of his feet, grin so wide that it looked painful.

Yugi's eyes widened at such a prospect. He didn't know much about sports, least of all basketball, but he was pretty sure that you had to be a bit more…physically fit to even stand a chance in the NBA. And here Alfonse was; practically wheezing after the few words he had spoken.

Gina mumbled something about being in between jobs as she pulled out a flask and slipped a clear liquid into her drink, taking a huge gulp afterwards.

"How about you Mutou?" Hideki said. "You still working at that Game Shop right?"

"Oh no," Yugi chuckled. "I never actually worked there. I just liked to help out my grandpa. I work at Kaiba Corp."

Gina choked on her drink while the other three looked flabbergasted.

Hideki was the first to recover, his smile strained. "That's great man. So you're like the janitor there or something?"

"Not exactly…" Yugi was distracted from the awkward conversation as he caught sight of Otogi Ryugi heading towards them. The tri-color haired man smiled widely as Otogi sauntered up to him and wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulders. "Otogi-kun! I didn't think you were going to make it!"

"Heya Yugi. There was an accident coming off of the freeway; bumper to bumper traffic all the way up the exit. I thought the Reunion would be over by the time I got here…or at least all the speeches would be done."

"Nope, they haven't even started yet," Yugi grinned.

"Ugh. I'll be honest; I was kind of hoping I would make it to the tail end of this thing."

"Whaaa?" Yugi deadpanned. "No way. You don't want to sit for two hours with your friends listening to our old teachers wax poetic about our achievements and why we should donate to the school? I should go find your old cheerleaders to knock the school spirit back in to you.

"Tanaka-sensei's rant about his ex wife should be fun though," he added as an afterthought.

Otogi groaned at the prospect. "You're such an ass Yugi." Otogi hadn't changed much since he'd last seen him. He was still lithe in body, with emerald green eyes and raven hair that made women of all ages swoon. He had traded in his vest and tight jeans for an expensive suit, though he still clung to his red and black theme. His dangly dice earring was still in place as well, but Yugi doubted he would ever give that up, no matter if it wasn't proper business attire.

"Y-you know Otogi Ryugi?" Hideki finally spoke up. "The inventor of Dungeon Dice Monsters and all the Fantasy Flight games? You! Mutou Yugi?"

Otogi raised an eyebrow at the gaping group, noticing them for the first time. "Who are your friends here Yugi?"

Yugi introduced them briefly by name out of courtesy; they did have name tags on after all and they didn't seem able to string two words together at the moment besides. "They were in our homeroom with Chono-sensei (7)."

"Oh yeah," Otogi said faintly. Yugi shook his head and sighed. He clearly had no idea who they were.

"Yeah yeah yeah! We had math and history together, remember Otogi-san!" Hideki said taking a confused Otogi's hand and shaking it with all his might. "Those were some good times, right Otogi-san?"

Alfonse squeezed in between them, almost making Hideki fall over with his girth. "I'm sure you remember me at all the basketball games. We won the championship against Osaka High, thanks to me of course – "

Fumiko, with an incredible amount of strength for a girl her size, shoved Alfonse into the food table. Her face, before a mask of twisted fury, was now all soft and sultry. "Ryugi-kun, you remember taking me to prom. That was a real…magical night, wasn't it?"

Gina grabbed his hand and…licked it.

Otogi snatched his hand away and took a big step back, his expression split between disturbed and horrified. "Oh-kaaaay," he said slowly. "So, how'd the promotion go Yugi?"

"It went great!" Yugi said with a bright smile. "The American's are on board with Egyptian Odyssey. We already have plans to convert it to holographic next year…well Seto thinks it'll take longer for the American's to figure out the conversion. He's already planning another trip for when the American's and I quote 'come running to us to help wipe their ass holes again'." Yugi sighed. "That man is such a pessimist."

Otogi laughed. "I think you're just an optimist. The American's can't make heads or tails of that holographic technology. Hell, no one but you and Kaiba can figure that stuff out. Atemu probably could too if he put his mind to it."

"Oh he can manage it fine. He just doesn't care about it unless we're making something new." Yugi smiled at the thought of his lover and his quirks. "If it's not a challenge then it's no fun for him."

"See. This is exactly why I stay in my own market and don't bother to compete like those other asshats. What was that company you guys shut down?"

Yugi grimaced. "Game Co." Running out other businesses was an aspect of being a part of a big corporation that Yugi wasn't fond of. Granted, Game Co. had practically been founded for the sole purpose of ruining Kaiba Seto, so it wasn't as if they were an innocent small business that had been blindsided. Apparently the last straw for Seto was when the CEO had shoved Yugi and caused him to smash his temple into the coffee table during one of their meetings. Seto may no longer be the heartless, money grubbing sociopath he had been in their teens, but when he said "You fuck with family, you fuck with me" he meant it right down to the very depths of his soul.

Game Co. found out how serious he was approximately 22 hours after the incident.

"So Yugi," the raven haired entrepreneur practically purred, "when are you going ditch Kaiba-douche and join Crown, eh?"

Yugi rolled his eyes. Whenever Yugi saw Otogi he would always ask this at least once, usually only half jokingly. "Sorry Otogi-kun. I like where I am now."

"Aw come on. I'll double the salary I offered last time. I'll even let you and Atem play in the office when it closes."

Yugi meeped as his face went tomato red. Seto had scolded them for an hour about that night. "It's not like we didn't turn the cameras off," Yugi muttered. Damn Atem and his kinky urges.

"You see Yugi! How can you deny an offer with so many perks?" Otogi smirked.

Their four former classmates stopped trying to clamber for Otogi's attention at that, and proceeded to sputter in astonishment.

"Wha-what d'ya want that loser for!" Hideki burst out.

"Are you kidding me? Because he's a talented genius, that's why!" Otogi said as if he couldn't believe anyone knew otherwise. "He has to be the most sought after game designer in the world!"

"And he would be co-CEO of Kaiba Corp. if he would stop being so damn humble."

Yugi whirled around at the new voice. Kaiba Seto was scowling openly at Otogi and Hideki's group, drink in one hand and his metal brief case in the other. "I see you made it Yugi. If you had skipped out I would have deducted 30% out of your next pay check."

The smaller young man smiled cheekily. "Oh, am I getting paid overtime for this?"

"You're being allowed to keep your job for this."

"And it's this kind of abuse that would be completely avoided at Crown, Yugi."

Seto's ice blue eyes narrowed. "Keep your mitts off my employee Otogi."

Where anyone else would be a quivering mass of nerves, Otogi merely returned Seto's narrowed gaze with a smirk. "I'm just letting him know he has options for when he gets tired of being underappreciated…you know, as a friend."

Yugi, who's face was a flame with embarrassment, turned back to his former classmates. They were all looking between him, Kaiba and Otogi as if there was some kind of invisible tennis match going on. All with expressions of astonishment and jealousy on their faces.

"You – but – you really work at Kaiba Corp.?" said Hideki.

"Of course he does," Seto put in. "I thought that was already established."

"Err…yeah we knew that," Fumiko said. "We just wanted to make sure it was true. I mean, this is Mutou Yugi we're talking about."

Otogi was frowning now at the condescending tone. "What's that supposed to mean?" He and Seto were now standing beside him like two pillars of power.

"I mean, in high school he wasn't as uh, active as the rest of us."

"Yeah," Alfonse chimed gleefully. "He couldn't do any sports. He couldn't even play four-square without messing up," he snickered.

"And he wasn't in annnny clubs," Gina slurred, swaying a little unsteadily. "I'da known 'cus I was the leaders of most of 'em."

"It's not like he had any friends either. He didn't go out much," Hideki shrugged, smirking lightly. "So it's kind of a surprise to see him so – so –" (8)

"Successful?"

"Rich?"

"Happy?"

Seto and Otogi traded off speaking, each word making the four flinch.

"Uh, yeah, that," Fumiko said lamely.

"I don't give a shit what happened in high school," Seto said bluntly. "And from what I can tell none of your employers cared either." He placed a supportive hand on Yugi's shoulder. "All I know is that Yugi is our most valuable asset." Yugi whipped his head around and looked at Seto in shock, but Seto kept on going. "The company would not run as well as it does without him."

They knew, Otogi and Seto, they both knew how hard it was in school for him, how much people like Fumiko and Hideki and Alfonse and Gina had hurt him. But Yugi didn't know they understood this much. What Kaiba was saying was ridiculous hyperbole that he normally wouldn't stoop to even under contract from his business partners…but he had done it anyway…

"Come on. Let's go find the rest of your band of losers."

As they walked back to their table, Yugi quickly attacked Seto with a hug around the waist, "Thank you, Seto." Ignoring the taller man's growl Yugi bolted for the safety of his friends.

"So Kaiba," Otogi drawled. "Just how much of an asset is Yugi to you?"

Seto stopped suddenly. Otogi turned to see what was wrong but as he was still walking he tripped over one of the balloons and nearly fell on his face.

Seto snorted. "Moron." And simply strolled away.

~oOo~

Loud greetings and slaps on the back were exchanged when Otogi and Kaiba made it to their table. Atemu merely graced them both with a stiff nod. He was still upset with Anzu's words and her lame excuses for them after Yugi left. The subject of Yugi's parents came sparingly, but when it did Yugi always showed such a broken kind of a pain that Atemu had never seen before, and subsequently made the ex-Pharaoh drop the topic entirely. Something horrible had happened, Atemu knew that much, he just had no idea what.

And for Anzu to bring it up so casually in some foolish attempt to make Atemu see Yugi's flaws…

The table cracked under pressure of his grip on the edge of it.

Yugi placed his little hand over Atemu's, lightly caressing it. "You okay?"

Atemu grunted in reply. He didn't trust himself not to snap and he did not want Yugi to think he was angry at him. Instead he drew Yugi closer to him so that the smaller could lean his head on his shoulder.

"D'awwww, are the love birds gettin' tired?" Jounouchi made obnoxious kissing noises. "You bunch of old fogies. It's only 11 o' clock."

"Jetlag Jounouchi-kun," Yugi moaned pitifully. "Have mercy."

The oncoming speeches weren't helping the sleepy atmosphere. The lights were dimmed as teachers and those who had made the honor roll that year spoke about their time in high school and where they are today. Pretty much everyone's eyes were drooping by the first hour, with the exception of Kaiba and Atemu who were sitting ramrod straight in their chairs and seeming perfectly focused on the people speaking.

In actuality Atemu was tuning the whole thing out, and he had no doubt Kaiba was doing the same (probably going over a bunch of figures over his latest deal). He was at the end of his rope with this entire spectacle, and the slideshow of pictures on the big screen was doing little to cull his irritation. There wasn't a single picture that didn't somehow showcase Yugi's misery. One would show a group picture of students playing basketball with Yugi off to the side, clearly not chosen for either team. The next one; some Spirit Week event with people posing and having fun while Yugi carried a bunch of boxes in the background. Several showing a much younger, even more adorable Yugi playing with broken toys by himself. And endless pictures of Yugi being pushed or shoved or pranked or laughed at. There was even one with Jounouchi and Honda in the midst of tossing a plush toy over Yugi's head, cruel grins of long ago captured on their faces.

And in each photo Yugi was always tremulously smiling, tears shining in his large amethyst eyes but never falling.

As the slideshow went on the group of friends gradually went from dozing boredom to a subdued sort of contemplation. Certainly, they were all aware that Yugi hadn't been the most popular guy at school (Otogi and Seto had been reminded first hand of his previous status already) but to see the habitual bullying and loneliness he faced outlined so blatantly was like a punch to the gut for them. Had anyone spared the small man even a bit of kindness before they came along?

For her part, Anzu was fighting valiantly with the guilty feeling threatening to rise over her righteous indignation. She had been Yugi's friend since they were 3 year olds, and she had stuck by him before the others in their group had arrived. These pictures…they told another story though. But that wasn't fair! The stupid pictures didn't show every waking moment in school. And so what! Maybe she didn't hang around Yugi as much during elementary, or middle school, or most of freshmen year of high school. They just...weren't as close at the time. Was it wrong that she had other friends, other interests that took up her time? The tight sensation refused to go away though, and she couldn't bring herself to make eye-contact with anyone at the table.

"And now, Chono-sensei has a nice surprise for her homeroom class," the principle announced, chuckling a little evilly.

The red headed, busty teacher climbed up the stage amidst more aware cheers. The screen above her, much to the relief of Atemu and the others, suddenly went blank.

"Welcome back class of 1998. I hope you're all having a good night so far, reacquainting yourselves with your fellow alumni and reminiscing on the good times.

"Speaking of memories, I have here tonight some really old memories of my class. I'm sure you all remember in Kindergarten how your teacher would have you write a letter to Santa Claus and we would mail it to the North Pole. Well, I'm sure you all know by now that we didn't actually send them to the North Pole, but as your teachers we all respected your privacy and never read a single letter.

"But, now that we're not your teachers anymore…" she grinned as people laughed and groaned in realization. "Just think of this as a reflection of how much you've changed in the last few decades…all right who's first? Yamada Selene wrote Dear Santy…"

Atemu chuckled as she went through the first few letters. He wondered if he should wake Yugi from his light doze, but just as he prepared to gently shake him awake Yugi jerked up from his shoulder.

"Aibou, are you –"

"Did she say she was reading Christmas Letters?" Yugi said faintly.

"Yeah, you'd think she would have gotten nicer in her old age, but much like her botox, some things never change," Honda grumbled.

"Once a witch, always a witch," Jounouchi agreed.

"Come on guys, it's not that bad. I think it's cute," said Ryou.

"I'm just glad I transferred here during Sophomore year," Otogi said smugly.

"Shit," Yugi said, becoming paler as Chono continued to read the letters.

"Wha's 'a matter Yug'? You ask Santa something really embarrassing?" Jounouchi grinned.

Honda elbowed him in the side and waggled his eyebrows. "Did you ask Anzu to be your girlfriend? I don't think Atem will care at this point Yugi."

"Can I have your drink Ryou?" Yugi said tightly.

"Ah, sure. We'll all be embarrassed though, you're not alone in this."

The small young man nodded but it was clear that he wasn't paying attention. The gang exchanged worried looks over their littlest friends' reaction. What could he have written that would make him act like this?

"Next is Honda Hiroto: 'Dear Santa, I was the goodest boy this year so I want my own room for Christmas. I don't wanna sleep with my sister anymore cus she snores and she is stinky. I also want a kitty cus my brother Eiji has a dog but I don't like dogs. Merry Christmas From Hiroto.' Well, well, at least you didn't wish your sister away Honda-kun." The alumni and teachers laughed while Honda just shook his head with an embarrassed chuckle.

They all laughed good naturedly as they heard Anzu wanted ballet slippers and Yuki-chan's (her classmate at the time) 'pretty pretty hair.' They patted Ryou comfortingly as his letter revealed that he wanted his 'daddy to be home for Christmas'. And everyone gave Jounouchi proud smiles as his letter wished 'for his little sister Shizuka to get better and for them to live together again'.

"Next we have Mutou Yugi –"

"Here we go," Yugi muttered, taking another swig of his drink

"'Dear Santa, my name is Yugi and I don' know if I was a very good boy this year. But for Christmas I would like it if you made mommy and daddy stop hitting me…'"

The gym went dead silent. Every head turned to their table. His friends were a vision of alarm and horror and confusion. Yugi downed the rest of his drink.

As if she was being controlled by an invisible force, Chono-sensei continued to read, her voice faint and strangled "'…and a bed and a blankey would be nice. And some food. Mommy says I am not 'posed to have food when I am bad, but Cookie-sensei says I did good this year so I would like that for Christmas too. If that's too much presents can you make me sleep forever? I don't like being alive no more…' Well I – well…"

Many emotions turned beneath his shock but Atemu couldn't seem to let them loose yet. Yugi stared at his now empty cup, no expression on his face.

"Yugi…" Atemu choked out.

"I'm going to get some air," he whispered.

The screech his chair made as he pushed back was earsplitting. All eyes followed him as he hurriedly shuffled his way out. Moments after the door shut the hall exploded in whispers. Atemu sneered as the room of adults gossiped like they hadn't matured a day since graduating.

Two years of sharing a body. Ten years in a romantic relationship. Since that time Atemu had learned when to comfort and when to allow space, and now was the time to comfort. The man stood up slowly, sparing a brief glare for everyone in the room before following his aibou.

"This doesn't leave this room." Kaiba's cold voice gave a slight echo in the gym. The few people who looked mutinous at the order were quickly cowed as Kaiba's locked his steely gaze with theirs. He abruptly looked to the teachers on stage, who seemed to be in their own heads. "Right?"

"Of-of course, um…yes, let's move on to the raffle," the principle said. He ushered a rather traumatized looking Chono-sensei off the stage and another teacher started to read out numbers in an overly cheerful manner.

~oOo~

Atemu found Yugi easily enough. He was outside the front of the gym, sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. The ex-Pharaoh sat beside his lover, and placed a hand on his back, rubbing little circles. His little one was trembling just slightly. Much as he would like to just gather Yugi in his arms, demand to know who had harmed him so he could deliver swift and painful retribution, Atemu instead waited for Yugi to make the next move.

"It's been so long," Yugi finally whispered. "It shouldn't affect me this much, I know that, but I…"

"If it hurt you, then there's nothing wrong with feeling hurt. No matter how long ago it happened," Atemu said just as quietly. It felt like speaking any louder would send Yugi over the edge. "Yugi, your…parents…?"

"Yeah…I…I guess I never told you, did I? I never told anyone really." Yugi lifted his head up, but kept his eyes to his lap. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to keep secrets from you –"

"It's ok aibou. I'm not angry." Despite what people thought, they didn't tell each other everything, not even when they were sharing a body.

There was another long pause as Yugi gathered his thoughts. After drawing in a deep breath he said, "My parents…I was an accident. I think they were Seniors or Juniors in high school when they had me, and my mom's parents forced them to get married…I never met them though.

"I…remember them being angry all the time. Dad hated his job and mom hated that she had to quit school and stay at home all day. All of their plans for the future were pretty much ruined and they…and they blamed me for it," he finished in a small voice.

"So they hit you for it?" Atemu said, his voice soft as he tried valiantly to keep from growling.

"Yes – I mean, not all the time for no reason. Only when I got in trouble, or annoyed them or got in the way. And they didn't beat me within an inch of my life everyday or anything horrible like that."

Everyday. Not everyday, but it had happened. Atemu felt his anger rise the more he heard of his aibou's childhood. "And they took your food from you?" he prompted.

"Hmm, yeah. When I did something wrong and they didn't want to hit me – they didn't like being around me much – they wouldn't feed me for awhile."

Atemu's stomach clenched. Yugi sounded so casual about his suffering, and what he left unsaid made him imagine even worse scenarios Yugi could have gone through. Awhile, he said. How long was awhile? Till breakfast, lunch? The entire day, several days? Long enough that a small child would not wish for toys for Christmas, but for food?

"I kinda still do that now, I guess," Yugi continued. "When I mess up and get anxious I lose my appetite and I…things get muddled, I forget where I am for awhile…" he let out an explosive breath, shaking his head. "It's ridiculous. I should be over this by now –"

"Obviously this is not something you can just 'get over'," Atemu interrupted Yugi's self-deprecating then and there. Once he got started it could be a long time before he stopped believing such words. "Those (despicable creatures who don't deserve to walk this earth, was what he wanted to say) people were charged with your care and they failed you, Yugi. They abused and neglected you, and there is no reason in this world that would excuse them for treating you that way."

"I always thought that if I wasn't so worthless and weak, if I were outgoing and smart and popular like all the other kids at school that they would…they would…"

"What?"

Yugi turned to him, his eyes a sorrowful dark violet and little smile on his face. "That they would forgive me…for being born."

Dark, angry, Shadow magic pulsed just beneath the tips of his fingers, waiting impatiently to lay waste to the unworthy souls in that damned building behind them, wanting to seek out the monsters that had crushed his precious little one's spirit without a care. The Pharaoh used every ounce of self control to push the tantalizing power back. Another day, he promised. Vengeance would come in due time, but aibou would always, ALWAYS, come first.

"Please Yugi, never say that again."

"Atem –"

"Your parents," he spat the word with evident disdain, "were the worthless ones if they could not see the gift they were given. Your birth was a blessing to this world. Have you any idea what you've accomplished, how many people's lives you have touched…" Atemu sighed at Yugi's bemused look. Of course, grandiose compliments, no matter how true, went completely over Yugi's head. "Whatever they said to you were lies, what they did to you was wrong. You know that, right?"

Yugi leaned into his chest and stared blankly ahead, but didn't respond otherwise. Atemu expected as much. His aibou had been hiding this hurt for a long time (and he was certain this wasn't even the half of what had happened), he couldn't expect the little one to recover from the issue so immediately.

"I love you, Yugi. So much."

Yugi snuggled deeper into his loves chest. A good sign. For a moment Atemu feared he had gone into shock. "Love you too, mou hitori no boku."

Atemu hated those who cheated, but he loathed those who preyed upon those who could not defend themselves. To abuse a child, to abuse Yugi, was worse than any sin. Yugi's parents were worse than scum and they would surely pay. Atemu brushed Yugi's blond bangs behind his ear, smiling gently at the angelic figure. It seemed that the little one had drifted off again. He looked behind him at the school that had served as nothing less than a prison to his aibou. Those…people had no idea the fortune they had been granted. With the power of the Puzzle at his disposal and his intelligence – his parents, his school, the world – Yugi could have…destroyed everything. But he had chosen not to, and not once had he been tempted.

Feeling eyes on him, Atemu turned his head slightly so he could see behind him. Kaiba, along with the rest of the gang, stood in the entryway of the gym. They all looked to be in various states of melancholy (Anzu's eyes were swollen from tears shed). They had heard everything. Kaiba locked eyes with him, then shifted his gaze to Yugi and back again. Ah, Kaiba was already in the process of finding Yugi's parents. Good, he didn't want to waste magic when technology worked just as fast.

But that would come later. Now he needed to get Yugi home; he doubted that his aibou wanted to go back to the reunion (even if this ordeal hadn't happened). Perhaps he should ask one of their friends to drive this time. Much as Atemu had improved his automobile skills, he thought Yugi deserved a more…moderate ride this time.

THE END

~oOo~

1) Pretty sure the year in the series was '96 or so, but I'm going by the date Season 0 aired.

2) Kouseishousho: The Japanese equivalent of Domestic Partnership for same-sex couples. According to Wikipedia at least. Goes against every researching bone in my body to cite a Wikipedia article but at least this one wasn't flagged for inadequate citations. Good sign? You be the judge, here's the link: http : / en. wikipedia. org / wiki / LGBT_ rights _ in _ Japan

3) Combining some Season 0 and later Season personality traits for Yami/Atem. I do love me some Season 0 Yami.

4) Hoping I didn't butcher the Japanese names too much. The honorifics are confusing enough

5) slang term meaning "nerd" or "geek".

6) Yes…apparently this exists. I think it's supposed to start sometime in 2012.

7) Ms. Chono was a teacher in Season 0 and acted as an antagonist for her one time appearance.

8) I think it's suggested but not out right shown in the anime after Duelist Kingdom and Battle City that Yugi became more popular (and it's certainly true in the Yu-gi-oh movie). For the sake of this story though, the canon is assuming that Yugi played down his achievements as much as possible until it faded out of everyone's minds.

End Notes: Hope you all enjoyed the story! Remember to Review.