One night Tea was laying in her bed. She couldn't help but think back on the two Yugis. She had a tendancy to do that, you see, Yugi and the Pharaoh, both shared with her secrets that they didn't want to tell the other. She smiled. "You two are so ignorant." She thought back to when Yugi's soul was captured by Dartz, almost a year ago. During that time while it was just her and the Pharaoh, he spoke to her about his feelings. His feelings, for Yugi.
At a river the Pharaoh and Tea had stopped for a drink. Tea had taken her shoes off and placed her feet in the water. "Ah, the water feels good." She sighed happily.
"Are you alright?" The Pharaoh asked.
Tea nodded. "As soon as I cool my feet we can go."
"Don't push yourself, we should rest for a while." He took his canteen and placed it in the river. Once it was full to his liking, he pulled it out, and took a drink.
"Sorry." Tea replied.
"Don't be," The Pharaoh smiled. "Joey and Tristan should be catching up soon."
Tea returned the smile. "Yeah." Tea looked at the Pharaoh and couldn't help but be happy. "It's good to see you smile again."
The Pharaoh was taken back by the comment. "It still doesn't hide the pain I feel." He sighed.
Tea reached out to him and placed her hand on his. "It will be ok. We'll get Yugi back!" She just stared at him, but he refused to look back at her. "Please, say something. Stop hiding from me. We're friends after all, right?"
the Pharoah shook his head and sighed. "Your right. I can't hide things from you. Tea," He paused for a moment, trying to gather the words, the words he hid back from even himself. "I just don't know how to put it, so I will say it as bluntly as possible." The Pharaoh looked Tea straight into the eyes and with as much sincerity in his voice he spoke. "I love Yugi."
Tea blinked. She was confused, the Pharaoh saw it in her eyes, and he sighed, turning away from her stare. "We all do." She finally spoke.
The Pharaoh bit his lip and nodded. "It's not the same." He mumbled.
Tea gasped! "You mean?" The Pharaoh replied with a nod. "Oh. I, I never even thought that." Tea stopped mid sentence. She couldn't find the right words and was not going to hurt the Pharaoh's feelings anymore.
"I have tried my hardest to ignore these feelings. To fight them." The Pharaoh looked down at his hands. "This body isn't mine, this is Yugi's. I am dead, Tea. I haven't had a physically body in over three thousand years!" He closed his eyes tight and tightened his hands together, forming fists. "I should not be allowed to love anyone. Especially Yugi!"
"That's not true." Tea reached over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Everyone deserves to be loved and to feel love. Including you." She smiled.
The Pharaoh looked into Tea's eyes once more. She was accepting his feelings for Yugi and even more so, she was encouraging it. "You can't tell him Tea. He and I both know, I am not destined to be here. We will seperate one day." He sighed, dreading the day they will part, never to be whole again.
"I never realized that." Tea spoke softly. The realization that the Pharaoh would one day leave hit her like a ton of bricks. "I won't tell him." She promised.
"Thank you." The Pharaoh smiled softly. Grateful that Tea would not tell Yugi, his true feelings.
Tea sat up and looked out her window. She could see the Kame Game shop from where she lived, barely, but still noticable. She had known Yugi for a long time now and walked to that store enough to find it from her window. "I wonder what you two are doing right now?" She spoke out loud. It was crazy to imagine that in just a couple weeks they all would be flying to Egypt. The Pharaoh would finally recover his memories, and then, he would leave, forever. "Oh Yugi." She sighed, fighting back tears. "I wish you two would just say it, maybe if you did, he wouldn't have to leave." She wiped her eyes and looked at the shop once more, she squinted to see if she could see inside Yugi's window, but there was nothing but light coming from there. She sighed once more and remembered just what Yugi had told her when he said they would be going to Egypt.
Tea and Yugi were walking home from school, taking the long path that Yugi usually took with the Pharaoh, but this time, he took it with Tea. "In a month?" She spoke louder then intended.
Yugi nodded. "Yeah, it's so close, I can't believe it myself." Yugi sighed, he looked down at his feet as they walked.
"Do you know what to do?" Tea asked, curious on what to expect.
"I don't. But Mou Hitori no Boku seems to. So we are going to see what happens and hope for the best." Yugi spoke, still not looking up at Tea.
"Yugi? Are you okay?" She asked him, concern filling her voice and face.
Yugi sighed and nodded once more. "No, I'm not." He looked up at Tea and they both stopped walking. "I am not ready for this Tea." He held back tears.
"Ready for what?" She questioned.
"I am not ready to say good bye." He allowed the tears to form in the corner of his eyes. "To say good bye to him."
Tea frowned. She knew what Yugi meant. The Pharaoh would leave once he regained his memories. It only made sense afterall. The Pharaoh was in fact, dead. He did not belong in this world and they all knew it. "I don't think any of us are really ready to say good bye."
"I am not ready for him to leave me!" Yugi hollered. He couldn't fight back the tears any longer. Thankfully he had closed off the mind link and asked the Pharaoh to respect his private talk with Tea, if not, what he was about to say would scare them both. "I'm not ready for these feelings to die." He sobbed.
"Feelings?" Tea questioned. She was taken back by Yugi's suddent change in stance.
"I, I," Yugi cried, the tears falling to the ground as he looked at his feet. "I think I love him, Tea." He sobbed.
Tea's hand went to her mouth as she gasped. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "You mean, you are in love with him?"
Yugi nodded. "I don't know what to think. I just know when I think of him leaving, that my body, my heart, it aches." Yugi clutched the chain that held the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, close. "I know it's love, I just can't figure out what type of love." He sighed, the tears finally slowing down.
Tea sighed. She knelt down, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I know what you mean. I used to think that I loved the Pharaoh too. But after time, I realized it was just the mystery of him, that made me desire him. After I got to learn who he was, then it just went away. Now I'm not saying it will go away for you once we learn who he is! I am only saying that your feelings are different and they will get sorted out, eventually."
"But will it be too late?" Yugi asked.
"That, I can't answer. I'm sorry." With that she leaned forward and hugged Yugi tight. "I just hope it will be sooner then later."
Yugi returned the hug. "Thank you, Tea." He smiled and relaxed when his friend tightened the hug. "Please, don't tell him. I don't want him to know. I just want him to focus on finding his memories. Besides," he pulled away. "I am only a vessel for him, I don't want him to think I'm crazy."
Tea gave a sad smile. "Your not just a vessel to him Yugi."
"And how would you know?"
"I don't know exactly, but I can think of many reasons why I know, to the Pharaoh, you are more than just a vessel." She smiled a little bigger, seeing Yugi finally relax.
"Thank Tea." Yugi smiled. "I appreciate you not telling him."
"You have my word." Tea stood and winked at Yugi. "If you only knew Yugi."
Tea sat on her bed, still staring out the window, in the direction of the game shop. She was still in shock and it had been over two weeks since Yugi shared his secret. Both Yugis shared feelings for one another and yet, they didn't want to hurt the other. "I wonder." Tea spoke out loud. "I wonder if he would stay, if he knew that Yugi loved him just as much." She questioned the thought, but alas pushed it out of her mind. She couldn't bare to think that she would be keeping the Pharaoh from achieving his ultimate goal. Nor could she imagine hurting Yugi's feelings like that, to get his hopes up, just to have them crash on him. She shook her head. "I hate keeping secrets!" Tea spoke out loud, she fell backwards onto her bed and allowed sleep to take over.
TWO WEEKS LATER
The duel was over, The Pharaoh had lost. Tea had just witnessed Yugi and the Pharaoh, no Atemu, duel. The winner, was Yugi, and she couldn't believe it. How could Yugi have won? Atemu was suppose to be better at this game. "I guess Yugi knew all his moves." She said to herself. Tea had watched as Atemu walked over to Yugi, she couldn't hear what they said to one another but she could see that Atemu was proud of Yugi. He had a big smile on his face. After a little bit of time, Atemu walked over to the door that led to the afterlife. "It's happening." She held back the tears.
"My name is, Atemu!" The Pharaoh hollered loudly. It echoed through the whole room. The doors opened slowly and he began walking towards it.
"No! It can't end like this!" Tea screamed at herself to move, run, towards him! "Wait!" She called out, causing the Pharaoh to stop in his tracks. "This isn't fair!"
"Tea." Joey grabbed her shoulder, but she pulled away. "Tea, please." He pleaded to her.
"No. I can't let you two do this." She stopped half way up the steps, meeting Yugi, who ran to the middle of the staircase. "You two deserve better." She looked at Atemu and than at Yugi.
"What do you mean, Tea?" Yugi asked though he had cried so much his voice was crackling.
"What I mean is." Tea wiped her eyes, tears forming in them once more. "You two share something special. It isn't fair to break it like this." She took a breathe. "Yes you deserve to be at peace Atemu. I really do believe that. But if you do this to Yugi, he will never be able to love again."
Both Atemu and Yugi flinched at hearing the word "love". They both kept their secrets from one another for years. Atemu still had his back turn, he refused to look back. If he did, he may not walk forward. "He will be fine." He spoke, still not looking at them. "Yugi's heart will find love, in whomever he wants that to be." What he said was true, Yugi could have anyone in the world. Girls fell at his feet, which he had seen plenty of times. Yugi didn't need the Pharaoh holding him back from that.
"But he wants you!" Tea hollered.
Yugi gasped. He looked at Tea with shock and surprised. She promised she wouldn't tell him, she promised that she would keep his feelings for the Pharaoh, for Atemu, to herself.
The Pharaoh too gasped, taken back by her words. He couldn't believe what she was telling him. Did she want him to stay that bad, that she had to make up a lie, to mess with his feelings. She knew he loved Yugi and that he refused to go through the pain of telling him, just to have to leave.
Tea just couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't keep secrets from her friends, including one that involved them both. "I have kept these secrets for a while now. Yugi's for just a month. However, for over a year, Pharaoh, I mean Atemu." She had to correct herself. "It's been over a year since you told me that you loved Yugi. That you needed him in your life. Do you remember that?" She turned to look at Yugi. "Yugi, my dear friend." Tears formed in her eyes once more. "You told me that you love Atemu, that your heart ached knowing he would leave. But what if, he didn't have to." She smiled at them both. "What if,"
The Pharaoh turned around and glared at her. "That's enough!" He hollered. "I refuse to let you toy with my feelings. I thought you were my friend!" He spat. "But instead, you toy with me. My feelings. You make my desires for Yugi known to all, when I clearly asked you not to." He walked towards her, rage and sadness filling his heart. "Now, now you expect me to return easily. To run to you and the rest of you, to stay here. I can't Tea! It's not possible for me." He finally was standing between Yugi and Tea, close to the tablet that held the millennium items. "I can't believe you would stoop so low, Tea." Tears formed in Atemu's eyes. He was heart broken, his feelings for Yugi had been shared, and clearly nothing was returned. She just embarrased himself and her.
Yugi stood there, listening to the whole thing. The Pharaoh admited he did tell Tea those things, he also didn't deny the feelings. Atemu was clearly pointing out that he had feelings for Yugi. "Why?" Yugi finally spoke.
Atemu looked over at him. "What do you mean, aibou?" He asked.
"Why?" Yugi repeated. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.
Atemu sighed, he dreaded this question. "Because, Aibou, I knew that you wouldn't feel the same."
"Lies!" Yugi cut him off. "You don't know how I feel." He took a step towards Atemu. "You have no right to tell me how to feel."
"Aibou." Atemu was about to speak when Yugi closed the gap between them. He had jumped towards the young king and allowed their lips to touch. He kissed him. The Pharaoh was shocked, he couldn't say or think anything. But he did realize Yugi was slowly slipping down, so he wrapped his arms around Yugi's waist and held him up.
After a few moments, Yugi pulled away, taking a sigh as he did. "You can not tell me how to feel." He smiled, looking into Atemu's eyes. "I feel the same way though."
Atemu's mouth was half open. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Yugi did return the feelings. "Aibou, do you mean?" He asked, just wanting to make sure what he heard was true.
Yugi nodded. "Yes. I have loved you for a long time."
Atemu smiled, tears dropping from his eyes. "Oh, Yugi. I have dreamed for the day you would say that to me." He pulled Yugi into another kiss, but before their lips touched, the room shook.
"Look!" Joey cried out.
They all looked and noticed the door to the Afterlife was closing. It had not taken Atemu with it, nor had it been told to close. But it was closing. Everyone stood in shock watching it move slowly. Finally the doors slammed shut hard, the room once again shook, and everyone in there just stared at the door.
"What just happened, sister?" Marik asked, confused.
Ishizu took a couple steps forward. "The door, it did not allow the Pharaoh to cross over." She looked over at Yugi who still was in Atemu's arms. "It has, rejected the outcome of the duel."
"Are you saying, the door is claiming I won, instead of Yugi?" The Pharaoh looked right at Ishizu and she had nodded. "It's saying, Yugi still needs me." He sighed and looked back at Yugi.
"No. I am saying, it believes, you two, need each other." Ishizu smiled.
Yugi looked up at Atemu and smiled. "I do believe that we need each other, in different ways know. In ways that only both of us being whole, can accomplish."
"I agree, Aibou." Atemu smiled and hugged Yugi close. "I have loved you for so long." He whispered into Yugi's ears.
"I love you too, Atemu." Yugi sighed happily.
Tea looked at Yugi and than at Atemu. She felt so much relief, no longer did she have the secrets they shared with her inside. She finally spoke them out loud and by doing so, Atemu was able to stay.
"Tea." Atemu spoke, which startled her, but she turned her head to him. "Thank you." He smiled. "Without you, this wouldn't have happened. I am so glad I was able to rely on you." He looked at Yugi and than back to Tea. "So again, thank you."
"It was nothing." Tea smiled big. "I honestly was tired of keeping the secrets so I wanted to say it to help myself feel better."
Joey and Tristan walked over to them, they both were smiling. "This is awesome!' Tristan said. "Now we finally get to know the man inside the Yugi." He laughed at his joke, even though no one else found it funny.
Joey gave Tristan a funny look. "Anyway." He turned to Atemu and Yugi. "So let me get this straight. The Pharaoh loved Yugi, Yugi loved the Pharaoh, both didn't tell one another, afraid that the other didn't feel the same, so told Tea, who kept the secret for a long freaking time. She couldn't take it anymore, spilled the beans. Because of that, you two realized the feelings were mutual this entire time, and now here we stand. Both of you are together and we are about to leave and go home, right?"
The Pharaoh chuckled. "Simply put, yes Joey."
"So there were two secrets, but in the end, they ended up to be one big truth." Joey smiled at the conclusion he came up with.
Atemu smiled at his friends. He was so happy that he would be returning home with them. Home. That sounded like a nice word to use for the future that destiny allowed him to have. He looked over at the Ishtars who were walking up to them. "So what does this mean, Ishizu?"
She looked around. "The Millenium items are back where they belong. You, my Pharaoh, destiny has placed you where it wants you to be." She looked at Yugi and smiled. "And that is with your friends. What ever adventures you all shared and the bonds that you made, has shown that you are needed here more than at rest." She sighed. "With that, I can only guess this. Live a full life with your loved ones. Grow up with them, share your dreams, your passions, your desires. You will one day be called home once again, but that will be the day that destiny picks for us all."
"I will do just that." He bowed. "Thank you, Ishtars. For your service all these years."
"No please, it was our honor." Ishizu was about to bow herself.
"No! You deserve this. Your family did all this for me, though I will not return to my resting place, I will in fact not live in vain." The Pharaoh leaned up and smiled.
"Now it is time to go." Marik said. "I am ready to get back into the sun." He smiled and turned towards the staircase, running towards it.
"Yes." Atemu reached for Yugi's hand, who jumped by the touch. "Are you ok?" He asked.
Yugi nodded. "Yeah. I am just not used to you, touching me." He smiled and intertwined his fingers with Atemu's.
Atemu pulled Yugi closer to his side. "Wait till I show you all the touches I know." He whispered into Yugi's ear, which caused him to blush. "After all, we have a whole day's worth of just being on the boat." He smirked and pulled away.
Tea had walked over to the staircase and turned back to see Atemu and Yugi holding hands as they walked together. She smiled. "Atemu, Yugi! Come on! It's time to go home, together."
Yugi smiled as he looked at his former soulmate, or in this case, his true soulmate. "Together." He whispered. "That's all I ever wished for."
