A/N: Written in response to King of Games (which is kind of sad, 'cause I wrote that, too), and second in my drabble series.


Change of Heart

He absently twirls a card in his fingers, wine-colored eyes unfocused, not really seeing its printed image but ultimately knowing every detail.

It shouldn't belong to him, he thinks, but that doesn't change the fact that it does. For it was a gift he was unable to refuse, one that has somehow come to take on a meaning that presides over his very existence.

Atem smiles and the card stills in his hand, sunlight from the window casting it in glittering illumination. Only half of the normally shimmering foil reflects the brightness, the other seeming to absorb it into shadow. It's fitting, but also glaringly inappropriate.

Change of Heart.

A knock sounds at the door, interrupting him from his musings. Tucking the card into his deck, he gracefully rises from his seated position on the couch and pulls the slender wooden barrier open.

The cheerful and slightly sheepish face of his elderly neighbor greets him. Atem smiles gently.

"I'm sorry to have to ask," she starts, wrinkled fingers rubbing her wrists in a mildly embarrassed gesture, "but could you do me a favor? I was looking for my photo album, but I think it's in the attic…"

A raised hand and amused look halt her words, and in no time at all Atem is climbing the rungs of the ladder leading to her attic. She holds a flashlight up at his suspended figure, but he just shakes his head. It won't be needed, although the reason has changed from what it used to be.

Pulling himself up into the dusty room, the shadows swirl, drawing back into the darkest corners they can find. They hiss in warning as he advances, wine-red gaze dutifully scanning the stacks and boxes for old memories.

Absentmindedly a hand slips into his pocket, unerringly selecting the half-angel, half-demon given to him by Ryou. Even here in the musty, quiet attic, the white, lighter half seems to shine. His eyes close, soft smile slipping as he tries to resist the sudden urge to cry. He doesn't want to think of the implications, and the consequences even less.

Atem's hand shakes as he finally finds and reaches for the album, and he almost falls when he climbs back down. His neighbor stumbles over apologies, looking horrified and clearly thinking the ladder is not as stable as she thought. But he just shoves his darkening thoughts away, easygoing smile sliding onto his face, and forgives her.

After all, what else can light do but forgive? For that is what he is now; light.

He resolutely doesn't think about the shadows and the dark and their damned existence. And most of all he doesn't think of Yugi and what his soul must have become, because for every light there must also be a darkness.