Amor Vincit Omnia

Hello all, welcome to chapter 7. No excuses for the lateness but the laziness. But it’s not my fault; I have discovered Greek Mythology fanfiction—and it is Amazing and Egyptian myth fanfiction? Orga…er, even more amazing!
*ahem* So I’ll start off with a fanfic rec.
This is not a chick flick by bookesque. Hades/Persephone: You will laugh until you cry and then laugh again.
(http://www.yuletidetreasure.org/archive/74/thisis.html)

Yeah, enjoy chapter 7

Thank you to my reviewers, as usual. I love you all for commenting and keeping the story alive. :)

read_right_time - Welcome!

usmorgan - Thanks for reviewing! I hope the first task was satisfactory

Cody_Thomas: Yugi cleans up the mess-part 1. Pull up a chair, a caramel macchiato and laugh at his misery! I mean, feel deeply sympathetic and sensitive toward his plight as it unfolds like a badly written Greek tragedy.

-II-

Amor Vincit Omnia
Chapter 7: In Small Details

It was dark outside, and cold enough for there to be patches of frost clinging to the bare trees and prickly hedges. Frigid gusts of wind blew in inconvenient intervals, causing him to shiver violently in his flimsy clothes, but Yugi counted himself fortunate that the grounds were well-lit. If the rain jacket over jeans and t-shirt was doing a shitty job in warding off the biting cold, or if his gloveless fingertips were slowly turning blue, he didn’t notice; he -had- to find Yami. But unfortunately, his darkness seemed to have melted into his element, leaving no trace on the well-kept vastness that made up the Millennium Complex. Of course, Yugi had suspected as much, seeing as how the only reminders he had of their relationship were wispy memories that could easily have been just dreams if it weren’t for replays the very next night. But his brain had unceremoniously brushed that idea aside and ordered his feet to take off running toward god knew where; as long as he kept moving, he didn’t have time to think about anything else. He didn’t know how much of a head start Yami had, or where he had gone, but if he were to judge by the conspicuous lack of footprints…

/Run. A little farther, just a little more…/

He wanted to cry, but all he got was a shuddering breath of cold air searing down his throat and lungs. He was shivering even more violently now, not only under the weight of cold, but also under this new kind of emptiness—a forlorn void where something, something crushingly precious, had been snatched away.
It was his entire fault, of course; despite the need for secrecy, the inconvenience of darkness, and the security risks, Yami had come to him. For whatever reason, his darkness had held him, loved him and gave him all manner of courage in return for a simple gesture of trust. And he had thrown that out the window—why? Because he was angry at Yami for not being there when he wanted? Since when did he have such exclusive rights to the man that he could begrudge him a few free days? He was a selfish brat; in the end, the answer was as simple as that.

A choked sob finally tore out Yugi’s throat, but it was dry and nauseating and so painful that he was almost tempted to curl up on the dead grass and go to sleep. He rubbed at his tired eyes, but his feet kept wandering aimlessly through the avenues, hovering around public sitting areas, turning at the sight of motion-sensing lights until the futility of his venture hit his exhausted brain and forced it to seek a path back to his…no, Yami’s apartment. Nothing here had ever been his; even the guardians’ smiles were extended to him upon Yami’s request.
Yugi lethargically shuffled into the foyer, with barely enough energy to sigh. His numb fingers scrambled clumsily to find his keycard before confirming that he’d forgotten to take it along on his headlong dash. The violet-eyed teen swayed in place and groaned nauseously as the dimly lit lobby spun; seemed as if his body was taking a stand against the abuse over the past week and made a conclusive decision to go on strike. He stumbled up to a sofa and dropped onto it like a stone without even pulling off his freezing coat. Vaguely, he remembered it was the same sofa he had cried himself to sleep in on his first day in the Complex. Only now, he had no one to blame for his unhappiness but himself and no one was obligated to be concerned enough to carry him up.

-II-

‘…goodnight, dear, and remind your brother to call, won’t you? You know when he gets too busy chasing life, he forgets everyone else. ’

Normally, Mai would have laughed at the affectionate complaint, but nowadays, her mother’s words were a little too intuitive. “I know, and I will tell him. Goodnight.”

The blonde folded the cell phone shut, ending the call, and sighed heavily. It was late; the clock on her desk told her it was past midnight and she herself hadn’t a single note of communication from Atem since the day she took his privileges. Not that her headstrong brother taken the whole thing contritely; he threw his share of tantrums, made cunning arguments when she didn’t heed those and even resorted to employing Seth as a bewildered and half-hearted diplomat. Despite his familial seniority, the brunet knew better than to coerce her into revoking her decision as President, so he hadn’t tried and that was when Atem finally retreated into sullen silence. The last time they’d seen each other was when he furiously swept into her guestroom to dump boxes of his stuff all over the floor and slammed the door on his way out.

Mai winced at the memory, rubbing a manicured hand over her temple to ward off a headache. She needed to focus on positive thoughts before the stress gave her wrinkles and one such thought had much to do with things calming down once Yugi had been relocated. Now that he was on the barest outskirts of campus, the little twerp had become significantly less distracting to the rest of the student populace that life in the University returned to normal. He wasn’t forgotten completely, not by a long shot, but with Siegfried and his infatuated herd handled accordingly, the instances of fanaticism decreased and Mai could focus on important things like representing the University. Speaking of which, the Archeology was having a VIP over tomorrow and Mai had barely read through his info; so in all honesty, fuck positive thoughts, she needed a drink.

Mai stood and luxuriated in a brief stretch, but before she could do anything else, there was a rapid knock at her door. Startled, the violet eyed woman looked out into the living space only to hear the door again. It sounded frantic and desperate. In thorough confusion, she opened the door and gasped as a black clad figure barreled into her arms.

“Atem?” Her first thought was to ask him how he’d gotten into the Complex, but one look at his face, concern overrode curiosity. He was in pain; Atem was rarely emotional about anything but games, but his expression was hurt, deeply wounded as if his heart had been torn out. “Atem, what’s wrong?”

The blonde let the door close before the racket woke anyone up and tried to maneuver her brother to a nearby couch. However, he pursed his lips and headed straight to the guestroom, kicked everything in his path until he found a bag. It was only when he began methodically shoving things into it that Mai repeated herself.

“Atem!”

A clothes hanger with a shirt still on it hit the wall. “Is there –anyone- in the world to fucking depend on anymore?” Atem surged forward, upsetting a box full of duel monsters cards and barely avoiding trampling on them.

“In case you forgot, brother, I’m still here.” Mai kept her tone on just this side of frosty.

“I’m not talking about you,” The crimson-eyed male angrily fiddled with his duel disk to return it to its compact form, and failing that, it too hit the wall. He ignored its dying crackle in favor of muttering irately. “This place is such a rathole; I shouldn’t have come back!”

“I am this place,” Mai said neutrally, not even wincing at her brother knocking a desk-full of game-pieces and stationary to the floor.

Atem wavered a little, but soon went back to backhanding a floorlamp that had the gall to block his way to the cupboard. Although, his words were deliberate. “Yeah well, you said it yourself…you used to be.”

The woman frowned a little and then it dawned on her. “This is about Yugi, isn’t it?”

Atem didn’t deny it. “This is about—“

“You lied to me!” Mai accused him, and tried to pin him with a glare. But Atem wasn’t one to be held down; he zipped the duffle bag shut and went thorough the desk drawers for something else. She didn’t miss his back tremble slightly at her words, but pride directed him to turn his angry gaze.

“I didn’t lie about anything!” He growled, reaching past her to furiously punch in the code to a small safe designed to look like a decorative table. He seized the box on top of it and threw it at the bed, where it snapped open to spill a series of duel monster cards. This time, Mai did cringe; that was his deck.

“Yes, you did.” She retorted. “You were having an affair with him; how is this any different from what Seth did? Are you honestly that much of a hypocrite to—“

“I didn’t shove it in your face!” Atem snarled and yanked the safe open. “I kept him out of the way so you wouldn’t have to lift a finger, so what I choose to do with him after is my own business. I kept him out of your sight.”

“And went to bed with him.” Mai mocked him ruthlessly. “Yeah, that is a much better way to show your loyalty.”

Atem cursed softly. “Don’t take that path, sister, I am on your side.”

“You were.” Mai corrected flatly. “Until you decided that I didn’t matter enough for you to tell me about this.”

“Because -I- didn’t sleep with him; the man he knows as Yami did.” The shorter man grabbed a few large notes of money from the safe along with a small dark green booklet. “I had no intentions of forcing you to make him part of the family…I had a perfectly good thing going until he decided to play tricks with a camera!”

The offending item crashed into the wall beside her and it didn’t take that much imagination for Mai to recognize her little brother in a halfway provocative pose on the LCD screen. There was no telling how Atem was feeling since he remained carefully angry, as if the heat of his fierceness could keep the chill of hurt at bay. Mai leaned against the doorframe, irritably flicking a Kuriboh with her toe. The scattered dueling cards in the pale light reminded her of blood all over the room. Perhaps it was, considering they were practically Atem’s life.

“So, he knows who you are.” She was less concerned by it than she thought because it was more information than she’d managed to glean from him or Seth. If reconnecting the pieces of this sad puzzle bought her brother back, she didn’t give a damn about anything Yugi could do to her reputation.

“He doesn’t know we’re related.” He muttered and pulled out his mobile phone. He quickly checked a message, heaved the bag over his shoulder and then looked at the door as if he just noticed his sister blocking it. “I’m going, Mai.”

“Where?”

“Home.”

Mai scoffed dismissively. “I don’t suggest it. Mother’s having the place renovated.”

“I’m not going there,” Atem replied and Mai narrowed her eyes. That could only mean… “It’s still evening in Cairo; I called Mahaad and he’s already got me a private flight in Domino International.”

That explained the money, and the booklet was his passport to return to their late father’s home. Mai raised her eyebrow, masking panic with sarcasm. “You’re leaving the country because Yugi took a picture of you? Trust me, brother, your yearbook photo is worse…and you were clothed in that.”

Her sibling didn’t even glare at her for her efforts. He tried to shove past her, only to be shoved back. “Kujaku Atem, enough of this nonsense!”

“Let go!” The younger of the two growled a long string of obscenities, cursing his slighter build when she overpowered him. But determination got him farther than brute force and soon, he was stomping through the apartment with his sister at his heels. She didn’t understand; he had to get away from here before he broke down. It hurt to think that he would never see Yugi again, or duel again, but Yugi –had- betrayed him. There was no love without trust, and that was one thing Yami had asked for, the one thing Yugi –failed- to give.

Or was it?

There was no love without trust. However, as far as he searched his memory, he didn’t remember Yugi ever saying that he loved his Yami. He himself had said them many times, in soft whispers, sharp groans and ardent cries. But Yugi had –never-...

There was no love without trust, and suddenly, there was no love; there never had been. Maybe Yugi had betrayed him, but he also bested him at his own game. The thought was sickening by itself and even more so as Atem realized just how tightly Yami had tied himself down with I-love-you’s, but left Yugi free to do as he wanted. Looking back, in his desperation not to involve Mai, he had gone for the overkill—whisking him away to the Complex, posting guardians, fending off his scummy friends. It was like summoning a bunch of monsters in one turn, cloaking them in shadows and protecting them in a stronghold. Atem smirked bitterly at the irony; didn’t he once duel a guy like that? And hadn’t his winning card been the Swords of Revealing Light?

Only here, the monsters didn’t disappear and there were no life-points—the only way to cleanup was to play something like Dark Hole and say fuck it all to hell. So yeah, fuck it all to hell—he was going.

“Be reasonable, Atem!” Mai’s voice was shrill and nowhere near authoritative, but it bought him back to the task at hand. He hadn’t meant to shake her up so much, but what was done was done. “If there is nothing in Domino, what could there be in Egypt?”

Hmm, what –was- there in a card graveyard? Good a time as any to find out.

“Who knows, Mai, maybe Uncle Akunadin will try to have me assassinated.” He jammed his feet haphazardly into his boots and shuffled forward before she could block the door. “Or worse, offer me a job in the government.”

Unsurprisingly, Mai didn’t find any of it amusing. “Atem…brother, please.”

He almost stopped at her pleading tone, but saw her fingers already dialing her mobile. He knew who would be on the other line: just the very last person he wanted to face. They may have grown up together, but Seth was rather stingy with his sympathies and unforgivably generous with I-told-you-so’s.

“Just forget it, Mai.” He grumbled. “It’s my choice and it’s not the President’s job to solve personal problems.”

He stopped her protest before it came, noting that the other line was ringing faintly. “And besides, I…I hate…” He took a deep breath and struggled to spit out reluctant words. Then, his face fell and he shook his head. “No, he hates me. And he should. You all should.”
He was not the King of Games anymore.

“For fuck’s sake…oh!” Mai began exasperatedly and almost missed a shiny slender thing heading in her direction. She caught the keycard Atem tossed and examined it with wide eyes.

“Tell Seth I’m sorry when he picks it up.” Atem’s voice was fading as he disappeared down the hall and in moments, Mai was standing alone in her nightclothes. She didn’t care about dignity at the moment more than she wanted to know how messed up her brother had to be to choose his destination. None of them really ever went back to Egypt—not since their father died and their mother bought them (fled rather) to Domino to take up her surname. The former home of Pharaohs wasn’t a fond memory—it was the icon of a sordid past.

A tinny voice on her phone made her jump and on the other end, Seth’s tired voice admonished her. “It’s almost 2am, Mai-chan, someone better be dying.”

Or dead inside.

-II-

When morning rolled around, Yugi woke up strictly out of necessity than any desire to actually face the day. His nose was stuffed up to the point where he couldn’t breathe comfortably and his sinuses were single-mindedly trying to kill him…and laughing while doing it.

His entire body ached unpleasantly not only from the awkward sleeping position, but from whatever bug he’d caught while wandering outside last night. His brain was sending only rudimentary signals and he knew better than to demand more. Violet eyes closed in resignation as their owner stumbled back into the sofa and looked out the set of bay windows wall directly opposite. Judging by the sun reaching up over the horizon, it was a little after dawn, so there weren’t many people around to look at him oddly. But it wouldn’t last; more were bound to appear sooner or later to enjoy their Saturday and Yugi was in no mood to be fawned over.

He still remembered last night and since the emotional side of him was spent, the rational part took over. There was really nothing he could do. Yami was betrayed, angry and wanted nothing more to do with him. Yami had too many resources and too many ways to exist and never be found. At least not by some adolescent with a runny nose. Damn, his rational side was pessimistic. Thankfully, there were always pride and principle to count on. Yugi may be naïve in many aspects, but he didn’t give up easily. True, he couldn’t hope to find Yami by searching the grounds, but like any puzzle, it was but one approach. His next would be through network. He was –however briefly—still on good terms with Ishizu, and Seth was scheduled to return on Monday; and if these guys couldn’t point him in the right direction, there was always Mai. That was bound to be one awkward conversation, but still better than walking through life like a marble statue.

Yugi nodded firmly to himself, as if confirming a plan. Grasping the armrest, he stood gingerly, wincing at the stabs of pain in his arms, hips and neck. Right on cue, the room began to spin, like some sort of creepy carnival ride—hell, he could even hear the faint dings and chimes coming from somewhere.

“Yugi-kun!”

Arms wrapped around his shoulders and he leaned into the spicy perfume, as if he didn’t almost pass out as she came out of the elevator. “Oh, hello, Ishizu-san. Just waiting for the paper delivery.”

“Yugi-kun, it’s Saturday; the paper comes late and you are shivering!” Ishizu’s voice took on a sharpness, and something else he couldn’t identify. “What were you doing? I believed you were in your room!”

Ah, so she was concerned for him. He didn’t exactly know why, but he was willing to forgo looking the gift horse in the mouth. He pulled himself together and stepped out of her arms. Rubbing his eyes and shaking his hair out of his face, he smiled up at her, in full knowledge of the effect it would have.

“Yugi-kun…”

“Forgive me for causing trouble Ishizu-san; I was out hoping to find someone.”

“Who?” Ishizu became considerably less charmed and more apprehensive.

Yugi did his best to look sweet. “Um, Kujaku-san…Mai’s brother, if you know him.”

Judging by the way Ishizu’s eyes widened, she knew him. And judging by what she said next, she knew him well. “Is this about last night, then?”

“You know about that?” Yugi asked faintly, not knowing whether he should be stunned or embarrassed. Then, he jumped up to catch her arm. “Ishizu-san, please! You have to ask him to come back, I’m sorry, I really am!”

Ishizu gently pried his fingers off and shook her head sadly. “I wish I could, Yugi. I do believe you’ve been wronged, but it’s simply not my place to intervene.”

Yugi’s heart dropped and his head ached sharply. The tears were gaining an advantage and would have won if Ishizu didn’t lay a gentle hand on his cheek. “Atem and I weren’t close, Yugi.” There, she divulged his real name, but it was all he would get. “But family always is.”

“But you –know- Mai, she hates me!”

Ishizu sighed. “Seth doesn’t and they’re cousins.” There was a faint trace of a smile on her face when Yugi’s face brightened with hope. She wasn’t sure that such optimism was wise, but it was something she could do for him. “My brother informed me he returned last night.”

Yugi practically glowed in the moments before her hugged her. “Thank you, Ishizu-san! Thank you!”

He dashed off and she wanted to call after him to be safe, but there was no danger involved. However, it wasn’t going to be easy and she had a feeling he was going to be tested more thoroughly than he was before, so she sighed and waved at him. “Be strong, Yugi-kun.”

-II-

Blue Eyes White Dragon. That was what Seth reminded Yugi of, dressed in a navy blue trench jacket on white clothes, pacing and snarling agitatedly on his cell phone. The shorter boy couldn’t make out the words, or the language, but it was clear that the brunet wasn’t to be messed with. His eyes were like knives, chilling to the bone despite the bags underneath them indicating that he hadn’t gotten much rest, but Yugi decided he was genuinely afraid of losing a limb if he got closer.

Luckily (and it was questionable luck), Seth locked eyes on him when he entered the top floor of the President’s Suite and proceeded to bark a last word into the phone and hang up. “Yugi.”

The addressee blinked, and a trill of fear ran up his spine. Did he seriously invite the man to the fucking –arcade- a few days ago? Damn, good thing he hadn’t mentioned karaoke night at Burger World.

“Seth-san, good morning…” He wanted to stall and collect his thoughts, but the blue-eyed man was having none of it.

“You’re here for my cousin.”

“Um, yes…” It was barely a whisper.

Seth looked at him in contempt. “I admire your spirit.”

Yugi was taken aback, but he stood his ground. “I just want to talk to him.”

“Why?”

“L…last night…we had a fight.” Yugi finished quickly, though there was no way Seth didn’t know what happened if Ishizu did, and their days of supposed camaraderie meant nothing when it came to his family. Still, he could preserve some dignity.

“One way to put it, I suppose.” Seth folded his arms, looking calm and highly intimidating at the same time—like someone with enough experience playing the part of an elder brother. “But I want to know why, why not wash your hands of him? As far as I know, he’s given you nothing but uncertainty and a half-assed...” He scoffed derisively. “It’s a disgrace to even call it a relationship.”

“But I love him!” Yugi insisted fervently as if to make up for his pervious timidity. Whatever test Seth was making him take, he was determined to pass.

“You barely know him; he didn’t even give you his real name before you jumped into bed with him.” Serpents couldn’t be more subtle.

“I’m not a slut, Seth-san!” His voice trembled and broke, but he meant what he said. Every word of it.

“Then, why did you let this tryst continue?” The brunet demanded, but then his eyes narrowed. “Yugi-kun, did you think you could not say no?”

“Not to Ya…Atem,” He corrected himself. “I would never say no; I don’t think I could stand it.”

Seth’s expression hardened again. “Sweet, though the poetry of the expression leaves something to be desired.” He began pacing again. “Now, whatever you may think, Yugi, I cannot help you. But if you really think it’s worth it—“

The door to their immediate right opened, and Mai emerged out of a reception room. She was perfectly made up and impeccably dressed, likely to make a good impression on the elderly man and young student following her. Seth smoothed his features in a flash, returning to what Yugi realized was ‘social mode’—the face Seth most commonly presented him with. He groaned inwardly; if he didn’t know Seth despite seeing him in daylight, what could he know about Atem?

“Seth,” Mai smiled amiably and gestured to her guests. “This is Professor Hawkins and his protégé, Espa Roba. They are here for the Archeology department tour.”

“Welcome,” Seth bowed and proceeded to make introductions until Yugi felt forgotten. It was a blessing and a curse all at once, because while it served to distract them from his grungy appearance, it allowed Mai to beckon him to another room.

“My apartment.” The President gestured grandly once the door closed and all the voices grew faint. Then, she turned to face him with an appraising expression that was scarier than if she had been angry. “Welcome, Motou-kun.”

“Mai-san.” Yugi bowed. “Mai-san, please, I never meant for this to happen. I just wanted some…some…”

“Confirmation.” Mai almost sighed, contrary to what he expected her to do once she found out who was responsible for her brother getting hurt. “I don’t blame you for it, Yugi-kun, but you’re mistaken if you think I’m going to hand him over just like that. For one, I can’t be sure if your intentions are to reconcile or to get revenge.” She almost-sighed again. “Rejection is hard, especially when you’re so beautiful.”

Yugi’s jaw nearly dropped. “You think I want to –hurt—him? I’m here to apologize for betraying him, when he gave me all I wanted. Mai-san, please, just let me talk to him!”

Mai smirked. “He went home last night.”

“Where?”

Mai bent to level a stare at him. Her violet eyes were startling, but her tone shifted back to the poisoned honey he was used to. “You’re not getting it, Motou, I’m not here to make it easy for you. The two of you have offended me enough by carrying this shit on for god knows how long. If you want to see him, you will earn the right.”

Violet stared into violet and Yugi set his lips, understanding. Like Seth, she wanted to see how far he would go for Atem’s sake, but it was also an invitation to back out if he chose. Whatever had happened was a bad and inappropriate start and damned if she was going to let it continue.

“What should I do, madame President?” He asked without inflection. If there was ever a time he had to let go of his personal issues in favor of the situation on hand, it was during a challenge.

Abruptly, she led him to a door and flung it open to reveal an awful and violent mess. There was damaged furniture, strewn belongings and dozens of duel monster cards scattered around the room. A team of custodians would take the whole day to clean it up, that too, if they skipped lunch. Mai shook her head at it. “At least no one can say Atem keeps it all inside.”

Yugi nodded without feeling. Surely, she wasn’t going to make him…

“As a gamer, I’m sure you understand there is nothing more precious than a set of game pieces.” Mai began. “Obviously, he wasn’t thinking last night and he took his anger out on his poor deck, and as a kindred duelist, you should understand this stuff. I want you to put it back together before sunset.”

Yugi raised his eyebrow though his stomach twisted in despair. There had to be more than a hundred cards lying around to choose from and probably more underneath the mess. Even if he found all of them, how was he supposed to construct a highly personalized duel deck before sunset?

As if she read his mind, Mai called back on her way out. “I thought I’d start you off easy, Yugi, seeing as you know my brother so intimately…this shouldn’t take long at all.”

-II-
Three hours later…

The shuffling at the door was so quiet and he was so concentrated on his task that he wouldn’t have heard it if he hadn’t needed to go into the kitchen for some water. It was midmorning and he was starving, but he didn’t really want to eat Mai’s food. She was his opponent here, and arm’s length was the best place to keep her. But the noises had gotten louder and for the second time in 24 hours, his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

First, he had lost Atem and was stuck shuffling Duel Monster cards but now, Atem was still lost, the card shuffling was on hold and the apartment was infiltrated by five little children who refused to leave. He had long since stopped wondering where their parents were since the oldest of them, Rebecca confirmed that she was Professor Hawkins’s granddaughter and the four younger boys were Espa Roba’s brothers—the very same brothers refused to give him their names because he was a ‘stranger who was not a policeman’, so he was forced to call them No. 1 through No. 4. For some reason, they found it extremely funny and kept trading names until he lost track of them all over again.

“What can you expect, all boys are idiots.” Rebecca said derisively. Apparently she was still mad at them for misbehaving the day before and getting them all grounded so she was forced to babysit them until lunch, while her grandfather was having the time of his life touring academia.

She immediately smiled at Yugi’s bewildered face. “All except you, Yugi-chan!” She tackle-hugged him for the eighth time while he tried to prevent No.3 from tying No.2’s shoelaces together. “I loved –you- ever since I saw you at Battle City. You’re so smart and so cute; you’re just my type!”

“Uhh, that’s great, Rebecca.” Yugi tried to detach himself gently all while wondering how she knew her ‘type’ when she was only 12.

“I’m very mature for my age, you know,” She stated matter-of-factly. “I’ve already won the KaibaCorp Presidential Scholarship and I’m starting my own graduate research soon. If we can get married by the time I win my Nobel Prize, I want you to be my trophy husband.”

“What?!” Yugi looked at her in disbelief, all thoughts of Mai gutting him flying out of his head. The oldest of the boys began giggling.

Rebecca looked surprised and then suspicious at his outburst. “Unless…are you Mai’s trophy husband?”

“HELL NO!” Yugi slammed a hand over his mouth, but the obscenity had escaped and the boys were staring at him in shock. “Shit…” Damn it! Yugi slapped his head again and looked at his newest charges frantically. “Uh, I just work for her.”

Rebecca didn’t look convinced. “What do you do?” She asked, hands on her hips.

Yugi gestured weakly to the disaster area. “I’m collecting all the duel monster cards and making a deck.”

“DUEL MONSTERS!” With a coronary inducing shout, all four boys rushed to the room and began grabbing at the red slips. “Can we help?” No.1 or maybe it was No.4 asked and turned limpid eyes in his direction.

“Well…” Yugi faltered. Mai didn’t say anything about not getting assistance and collecting the cards –would- keep them out of his hair while he tried to put together Atem’s deck, so it didn’t seem like a bad idea. Famous last words, he knew, but it worked. “Fine, but touch only the cards. Once you’re done, just bring them into the pile here.” He indicated to the pile just outside the room on a breakfast table he managed to find.

“Ok!” The boys dove in, but Rebecca sat cross-legged opposite him at the table. She glared at him for a moment.

“What are you doing with the cards?”

“Making a deck.”

”For you?”

“Someone else’s.” Yugi sifted through another pile of spell cards and rejected two for being misattributed. “They mixed up their cards with the other cards, so I’m trying to put the deck back together.”

“Do they live here?”

“I guess so, yes.” Yugi lingered on the Just Desserts trap card. Pathetic, he didn’t even know where Atem lived.

“Is it Atem Kujaku’s deck?”

The trap fell out of his hand. “How did you know?”

Rebecca looked offended and then pointed to a card in the Monster pile. “I told you, I’m not stupid. Besides, he is the only one with a gold edition Dark Magician. He won that from—“

“—Arcana, Battle City prelim.” Yugi finished and grabbed the card. The Magician stared back at him approvingly, as if sharing in his first triumph. Well, not exactly his alone… “That’s amazing, Rebecca! Thanks!”

“You’re welcome.” She said calmly, but he noticed the smile on her face. “But remember the interview, the gold edition is never actually in his deck because—“

“—because his original Dark Magician was the first rare card he collected.” Yugi stated confidently. It fit that Atem was loyal to his cards and never abandoned his old friends. That warmed him inside, and made the task seem a lot less impossible.

“Ok, so now that we know Dark Magician is the deck master, we can start looking for accessory cards.” Rebecca sifted through the pile that the boys made on the floor and extracted Magic Book and Curtain of Black Magic—two standard cards in a spellcaster deck.

Yugi nodded. “Makes sense; here are Monster Reborn, and Mirror Force.” He eyed the frame of the deck and smiled. Things were getting better and better in his opinion. The kids were a bit of a surprise, but they were good and he wasn’t feeling so stressed out anymore since the Roba brothers were crawling into every corner of the room to unearth cards.

“Yugi, do you think he still has Black Chaos Mage in his deck?” The blonde held up a ritual card.

Yugi considered. “Not anymore; rituals take forever and put on a huge show, but he likes being a mystery. Go with Dark Magician Girl and Magical Hats instead.”

Rebecca added the cards, but raised her eyebrow at him. “How do you know he likes mysteries?”

Yugi resisted the urge to sigh. “Trust me.” It wasn’t just that he liked to visit at night, it was also the way he behaved—when he woke Yugi in the middle of night, when he appeared softly like a whisper of shadow and velvet.

“So…you want me to gather up the powerful and mysterious cards?”

Yugi bit his lip and remembered Atem the night before and just how physically intimidating he could be to perceived threats. It was a complete contrast to his crooning, gentle nature when they lay together in peace. “No, are there any animal types? Add Gazelle, King of Beasts and Winged Beast Chimera.”
Atem was many things, but Yugi could never shake the first feeling he got when he saw his face—like facing royalty.

“Gaia, the Knight?”

“Yeah.” Kings had to have knights. On that note, he added King’s, Queen’s and Jack’s Knight. He remembered the combo from Grand Prix, but it also fit Atem. He had to be a good coordinator if he kept his identity secret for so long, with all the coming and going. He knew how to use his resources.

Rebecca threw a few more potentials on the table and examined a card. “Bah, Kuriboh, waste of time.”

“Wait!” Yugi caught her hand. “It’s still a possibility.”

“It’s something my cat coughed up the other day.” The girl looked irritated. “No way a real duelist would have -this-.”

Yugi put on a mock offended face. “Hey! I have Marshmallon.”

“Ok…” Rebecca gave him a look as if he’d admitted to having a third nipple or a fourth. “But this is the King of Games; why have it?”

“Because it works with his style. It may be small, but add it to Magic Multiply and you’ve a whole lot of trouble –mysteriously- popping up.”

Rebecca looked thoughtful. “So…if it completes your deck, it doesn’t matter what it looks like.”

“Exactly!” Yugi nodded and smiled ruefully. Ironic, how the first lesson he was taught was the one he understood too late. It was never wise to judge by appearances, or by non-appearances, and that’s exactly what he’d done to Atem. Was the man who was so kind to him suddenly a monster because he came to him at night?

If there was anything he learned over the last few weeks, it was that Yami…Atem completed him. So why did anything else matter? Seth had been about to ask him it was all worth; Yugi looked at the cards before him and the duelist in him recognized a good deck that never unfairly exploited anything. And if that was who Atem really was, then yes, it would always be worth it.

-II-

“I don’t know about you, but it bothers me.” Mai said firmly, falling into step beside Seth after a long day. It was a few minutes before sunset and they were back in the President’s Suite when Seth posed her the question as to why she didn’t let Yugi call Atem back. “Atem would come back if Yugi asked, so this power that the kid holds over him is a little…you know…”

“Scary?” Seth chuckled and smoothed his jacket.

“Potentially disastrous.” Mai corrected. She didn’t do scary.

“Well, all the more reason to have him on your side.” The brunet suggested mildly. “Having him clean Atem’s mess isn’t helping your chances, you know.”

“Shut up, Seth.” Mai groused, and punched in the code to her door. Contrary to her expectations, Yugi was waiting on the other side, sitting calmly among a neat pile of cards and a deck in front of him. He jumped up as soon as he saw her.

“I’m done, Mai-san.” He held out the deck almost reverentially. Mai stared at the thing and back at him while Seth sifted through the slips of paper.

“It’s his.” The brunet confirmed and handed it back much to Yugi’s confusion. “Keep it, Yugi-kun, think of it as your torch. If you decide you want out, hand it back.” He had to smirk at how the younger one nearly snatched it back, but Mai was not so happy.

“Fine,” She hissed menacingly. “You’ve passed. Atem is in our father’s home. Egypt; he left last night…I suppose after your…fight.”

Yugi nodded, still trying to wrap his head around Egypt. Egypt? He expected her to play some kind of trick on him, but he was even less prepared for straight up truth. It was next to impossible for him to go to Egypt, and Mai had to have known it, but she made him work for it anyway. Well, for all his hard work, he might as well glean some more. “Can I call him?”

Mai rolled her eyes to an almost imperceptible nod from Seth. “You’ll need more information to do that, Yugi-kun and I’ve given you enough already. It’s late now, but come by tomorrow for any other questions you may have.”

”it’ll be the same question, Mai-san.” Yugi stared back into her smoldering eyes. Nothing mattered anymore, except making things right.

“Still, come back tomorrow.” Mai made a dismissive gesture. “I’ll have you earn this as well.”

-tbc-

Notes: Another month, another exhausting chapter.
I searched all over the net for various versions for Eros and Psyche, but none of them depict what happens to Eros after he flees. So, I decided to go ahead and write Yami's side and his convoluted thinking. I wanted him to justify his fleeing Yugi's side, but I didn't want him too sympathetic...the whole misadventure was a -shared- madness. I know, he seems OOC here with the way he takes his losses, but really, I found that if a loss involves Yugi, he takes it worse than the others. See Orichalcos. See Egyptian rage.
Anyhow, Yugi gets his first task YAY!! So, it was a little cheesy after all, but it brings out the DM nerd in him and I like that. In the myth, sorting seeds represents categorizing your priorities and here, making Atem's deck represents collecting all the tidbits about him and seeing if he's really worth it. So far, Yugi likes, so optimism, eh?

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