Missing

by Prime's Little One

After the Ceremonial Duel, the Hikaris are all depressed, especially Yugi. When feelings get to be too much, and they reject the world, will anyone be able to pull them out of their depression? Or will thoughts of joining their Yamis turn to action?

Missing by: Prime's Little One
Genre: Angst/Romance
Pairings: Puzzle, Tender, Bronze, hinted Puppy
Warnings: Mentioned character death; spoilers for the ending; Yaoi; angst turning to mild fluff; Fluff.
Summary: After the Ceremonial Duel, the Hikaris are all depressed, especially Yugi. When the feelings get to be too much, and they reject the world, will anyone be able to pull them out of their depression? Or will thoughts of joining their Yamis turn to action on the Hikari's parts?

(AxY)

"Four months… It's only been four months?" Ryou asked despondently. His two companions nodded sadly. "It feels like it should have been an eternity…" Malik commented. Yugi sighed, his dull, amethyst eyes shimmering with tears that could no longer fall. Of the three Hikaris, he had been hit the hardest, as his Yami had been kind and gentle from the start, which meant Yugi had been in love with his Yami for longer.

Malik and Ryou traded looks, moving closer to Yugi. It wasn't that they weren't hit hard by their Yamis' absence, just… Their spirit's had been cruel at first, making the two Hikaris hate them. Over time, the two spirit's had mellowed out, and genuinely came to care for their hosts. Ryou and Malik had come to care for their Yamis, as well, but not for as long as Yugi had his Yami.

After the Ceremonial Duel between Yugi and Atemu-Yugi's Yami's real name- the three spirits had left for the After World and Yugi hadn't spoken since. He had essentially turned mute, only talking in gestures to Ryou or Malik. Not even Solomon, Yugi's grandfather, could get a response from him. Although no one outside of Yugi's group of friends knew why, and even they could only guess at the true reason, Yugi refused to leave Ryous' and Maliks' sides, or have anything to do with games, especially duel monsters.

Yugi leaned on Ryou's shoulder, and Ryou placed an arm around the smaller teen's shoulders. Malik scooted closer to the two and leaned against Yugi's other side, an arm placed comfortingly around Yugi's waist. The three ex-Hikaris gathered comfort from each other for a while, saying nothing. The silence was neither comfortable, nor uncomfortable. It just was- like the constant ache in their hearts.

Sometime later, the three teens heard the phone ring downstairs from their position curled together on the floor of Yugi's room. None of them so much as twitched in the direction of the door. They had no desire to talk to anyone, and they knew that Solomon would answer it. Sure enough, the ringing stopped, and they heard Solomon's voice speaking into the phone. They couldn't hear what he said, but they did hear the surprise and excitement in his voice before he hung up.

They heard footsteps coming up the stairs from the shop, and Solomon's shadow was seen from underneath the door as he paused. Malik, Ryou, and Yugi all waited to see if he would knock and enter, and when he just walked on, all three boys returned to their silent grieving. It had been near the end of summer break when the three ex-spirits left, and it was now nearing Christmas, but none of the gentle looking boys felt any need to celebrate the holiday.

Nearly an hour later, Solomon knocked on Yugi's door and entered, carrying a tray with three steaming bowls, and three cups of water. "I know you don't feel like eating, my boys," He said as he set the tray on Yugi's bedside table. "But please, try a little? If not for yourselves, then for this poor old man whose heart aches for you?" Three sets of dull, pain-filled eyes in pale violet, deep amethyst, and rich chocolate looked at the food, then at Solomon. The old man's heart clenched at the hopelessness in those three sets of eyes, and he sighed softly as he left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. He really hoped that the surprise would cheer up the depressed little teens. He hated seeing the gentle souls of the three boys suffering so.

As they weren't hungry at all, the three boys didn't touch the soup, or the water. None of the boys had eaten much, maybe three meals a week. They drank a bit more, but it still wasn't enough. They could walk around the house, but that was it. Solomon had gotten them homeschooling, but they didn't care about that any more. Malik, Ryou, and Yugi mostly stayed in Yugi's room now, seeing as the longer they went with so little food, the weaker they got.

About fifteen minutes after Solomon left them the soup, the ex-Hikaris heard the shop door's bell ring, and Solomon's voice greeting the person entering. They all figured it was a customer, until they heard several pairs of footsteps treading up the stairs. Malik and Ryou shared a glance over Yugi's head before joining their friend in ignoring the incoming people. There was a knock on the door behind them, but when there was no answer from inside the room, the door was opened.

All three ignored the people standing in the doorway, Ryou and Malik's arms tightening around Yugi was the only sign that the three knew they even had visitors. Silence encompassed the room before the visitors entered, stopping just behind the ex-Hikaris. Three figures knelt down close behind each of the boys. Ryou, Malik, and Yugi each stiffened as they felt hands on their shoulders- or in Yugi's case, his arms just above his elbows.

Jerking away, all three boys spun to glare at the people touching them, before faltering abruptly, shock and pain written across their features. Eyes widening, all three ex-Hikaris stared in disbelief before Yugi whimpered and hid his face in Ryou's chest. Ryou and Malik blinked and turned to comfort Yugi immediately. Ryou placed an arm around Yugi's shoulders and carded his other hand through Yugi's tri-color hair as Malik rubbed Yugi's back, leaning close to croon comfortingly in Yugi's ear.

Once Yugi had calmed somewhat, Ryou and Malik forced their eyes back to the painful vision in front of them. Atemu, Bakura, and Marik knelt in front of them, faces full of guilt and pain. All three reached out for their respective Hikaris, but Ryou tightened his grip on Yugi as Malik shifted in front of the other two- coincidentally out of his Yami's reach, as well. Ryou and Malik were both frowning, and when Atemu tried again to see his Aibou, Malik's frown turned to a glare, and shockingly, Ryou actually growled at him.

"Ryou…" Bakura muttered softly, hard brown eyes glinting with regret and guilt. Ryou cringed and looked away, not believing what his eyes and ears were telling him. Although all three boys wanted to believe their Yamis had come back, it had to be a dream. How else would they have come back to the living after being in the After World? Marik reached out to touch Malik, but the suffering teen scooted back, out of reach.

Close to half an hour passed silently with the newly living Yamis watching their Hikaris intently, Yugi's face buried in Ryou's chest, and Ryou and Malik both watching the other three males warily. All eyes moved to Yugi as his form shuddered lightly in Ryou's arms. They watched intently as Yugi slowly pulled his face from Ryou's chest, and turned until he was facing the three males in front of them. He stared silently, wonderingly, at Atemu, his amethyst eyes glassy with unshed tears.

Slowly, oh so slowly, he raised his right hand, stopping it in mid-air. Atemu raised his left hand and placed it in front of Yugi's, stilling his to let Yugi touch it in his own time. After what seemed like an eternity, Yugi slowly brushed his fingers lightly against Atemu's. Jerking his hand back as if it had been electrocuted, Yugi stared wide-eyed at Atemu, his tears threatening to spill over. Without warning, Yugi ripped himself out of Ryou's arms and threw himself at Atemu, closing his eyes as he sobbed into his Yami's chest.

Yugi's actions seemed to have broken the restraint Ryou and Malik had, as Bakura and Marik found their arms full of hysterically sobbing Hikaris soon after. All three ex-spirits spent the next two hours comforting their Hikaris, enduring the crying and then the screaming and accusations that followed. Solomon never came up, seeming to have expected an outburst like this.

After the three teens had finished crying, the three previously dead teens explained to the younger ones how and why they came back. The Hikaris never let go of their Yamis as they listened to how their other halves were depressed in the Afterlife, and how the God Ra offered them a life here with their Hikaris.

Malik, Ryou, and Yugi listened as Atemu, Bakura, and Marik took turns explaining how they had woken up with the Ishtar's, who, after explaining certain things to them, had set them on a plane to Domino City within four hours of being alive again. Apparently, Ra had set them up with bodies and identities in Egypt. The call Yugi's grandfather had gotten a few hours ago had been Rishid calling from the Domino City Airport, telling him that they were on their way, and why.

Sighing, Yugi curled up in Atemu's lap, tucking his head under Atemu's chin. He clutched Atemu's black muscle shirt in both hands, watching as Ryou and Malik curled up in their respective Yamis' laps as well. He pulled back enough to run his gaze over his Atemu's features, taking in the bronze skin, crimson eyes, and spiky, tri-colored hair. Atemu looked exactly like he did as an Egyptian Pharaoh. Bakura looked like he did whenever he had possessed Ryou, and Malik looked like he did when he possessed Malik.

"Atemu…" Yugi whispered, his voice hoarse from disuse. "Yes, Aibou?" Atemu questioned, tightening his grip on his smaller 'Partner'. "You won't… You won't leave me again… Will you?" Yugi asked hesitantly, staring hopefully into Atemu's loving, crimson gaze. "No, Aibou. Never again. Never will I leave you again." Atemu whispered, his voice soft and loving, yet firm and reassuring. When Ryou and Malik looked hopefully at their own Yamis, they received the same whispered promises in turn. Yugi, Ryou, and Malik sighed happily, the light returning to their eyes. The shadows in their eyes didn't leave, but they were reduced with the returning of the happiness the three Hikari's used to feel. When the room had been silent for nearly two hours, Solomon peeked inside and felt his chest lighten as a small smile flitted upon his lips. All three Yamis were lying on the bed asleep, with their respective Hikaris lying on their chests, clutching Atemu, Bakura, or Marik's shirts in their hands. The three ex-spirits had their arms wrapped around the waists of their Hikaris, clutching the smaller teens to them even in sleep.

His smile got bigger as he noticed the empty bowls and glasses on Yugi's table. Solomon quietly closed the door and chuckled softly as he tip-toed downstairs. 'Now, to get Jou and Seto to come out of the closet about their feelings for each other,' the mischievous match-making grandfather plotted, walking into the kitchen for a drink. How he loved Christmas miracles!

(AxY)

A/N: Okay, so a somewhat Christmas-y one-shot. I did promise to put one up, but I got distracted and… Yeah. Hopefully it doesn't suck too badly. I tried to make it angsty in the beginning, to illustrate just how depressed the lights were without their Yamis… And I hope I didn't make them believe that Atemu, Bakura, and Marik were real too soon. Erm… Yeah. I'm a little nervous about posting this one up, so if ya'll could tell me what you think of it, I'd really appreciate it. Whether you say it is great, or point out something's that need work, I'd be really grateful. Thanks ya'll! Oh! I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or the characters. I just decided to use them to inflict my own brand of angsty romance on the world.