It was two months after Yugi's other half walked into the light.

And consequently, away from his light.

It was probably one of the worst days Yugi had been through in a long time.

He could handle bullying a lot better than before Yami came into his life. He could handle himself. He wanted to prove to Yami that he could handle himself. But of course, he wasn't even sure his other half was watching. Wasn't sure he even remembered him.

Yugi didn't cry easily, exactly. He was faster to let himself cry than a lot of boys in his situation were, but he wasn't a crybaby. He knew Atem wouldn't mind seeing him cry.

If only he was there to see.

Yugi wanted more than anything in the world to talk to him again. Just to take comfort in his presence after a long hard day.

It was one of those days that you know is going to suck before you're even in your first class.

He witnessed a car wreck on his way to school that seriously shook him up, but that was only the beginning of his awful day.

Catching up with his grades since he'd been gone during so many school days last year was really getting to him. The bullies almost seemed to notice he was struggling to stay in a good mood today, and they, (several teenaged boys with nothing better to do than pick on the short kid), refused to leave him alone, repeatedly asking where the "big gold piece of shit" he used to wear went.

Teenagers are brutal.

It had been two months, and he still reached for the puzzle. He still woke up and said good morning to the spirit in his head, before he realized. Two months and he was still a bit too sensitive to talk about the puzzle or his trip to Egypt or his other half.

"Did you finally outgrow wearing it?"

He knew better than to cry in front of bullies. He'd learned that much.

"Get sick of wearing big fake toys around your neck for so long?"

He never answered. He was too busy concentrating on not crying.

"Why'd you wear that crap for so long anyway? S' like you were stuck in the 3rd grade for years, ya'know?"

They laughed. Yugi wasn't laughing.

"Oh, come on, lighten up, it was a joke!"

Yugi wasn't laughing.

He counted on his teachers to be nice to him when his fellow students couldn't.

Unfortunately, this wasn't Yugi's day. Jou wasn't there, and he wasn't sure why. He was nervous about it. Worried it was something his dad did, or a former gang-mate did.

If that wasn't enough, Anzu was talking about leaving later in the year, to go to America.

Permanently.

He'd just lost someone important! He didn't want to lose her too! And maybe Jou...

It was just becoming too much.

And on top of all that, in this awful day, his teachers seemed angry.

"You were such a good student, Yuugi, what happened?"

He was home now, and he already felt the tears coming.

All he wanted was to tell his Yami he was upset, and take comfort in the voice that always told him it'd be ok. He was imagining it now, but it wasn't the same.

He promised himself he'd get over losing him.

He promised himself he wouldn't go to any drastic measures to see him again.

But, in his quickly darkening bedroom, tears slipping down his face, things started to sound less drastic and more do-able.

He thought about calling Ryou, but he needed to do this alone. Tears and confessions might be involved, so he needed to be alone.

He gathered candles, and pulled his phone out to do some research.

Apparently there were several ways to go about it. He was still feeling small and lonely and upset about his day, but that's what was making him desperate.

"Yami please..."

he mumbled as he set the candles up on the floor of his bedroom.

"Please, Atem..." his voice cracked, beyond full of emotion at this point.

He lit every single candle, and turned his lights out.

He wasn't sure what he was doing. He just wanted his Yami.

He read that intent was the most important part of a séance, and he certainly had enough of that.

So he started talking, and watched the candles flicker.

"Atem...your name is so powerful, I know, so I hope it can bring you back to me, even if only for a moment..."

People talked about being possessed during these types of things. That would be Yugi's best case. He was sure he couldn't get that lucky.

"I've..." the tears were coming back, and the air was still and calm as it always had been in his room. "I've had such a bad day, Atem... Yami... please..."

When nothing happened, not so much as a flicker of a candle, his tears started to fall even faster.

"Atem, I know you crossed over, but I'll say your name a thousand times if it brings you back to me even for a second..."

He sat, quietly as he could, waiting.

"Can..." a quiet sob, full of absolute desperation. "Can you feel how much I long to see you...? How much I need you...?"

Dead silence. The room was no different.

"Atem, please!"

He all but screamed. It didn't matter to him in the moment if his grandfather heard. In fact, if he'd thought about it, he'd guess his grandpa would understand. His grandpa understood a lot of things.

It felt cold.

It had felt cold for a while, but this was a new low.

"Yugi." He said, softly. Only, why did he say it?

His heart sped up, but surprisingly, his breathing didn't. He sighed.

"You should know by now that I never really left you."

Yugi's brain was going so fast he wasn't sure he was making sense of the words leaving his own mouth.

"No, don't try to talk. This is hard to maintain, and I'm not done."

But it was hard not to. It was hard not to try to burst into sobs, at the sensation of his voice being used by someone else, again.

But a lot like he remembered, he was a bit numb to physical sensation right now. He could vaguely feel his lips moving, and he knew that if he had complete control right now, he would have been in tears.

"Aibou."

A couple of Yugi's tears slipped down their currently shared cheeks, as he continued to speak.

"Don't cry, partner. I'm here."

Yugi couldn't help it anymore.

"Mou hitori no boku, I..."

Yugi is more than surprised when his right hand curls it's fingers around his left, and he can feel it all, but he also feels it moving without his consent. He's glad.

"Shhh, Aibou. This isn't easy, but I know you need me, and I'm here." It was apparent in the way his voice wavered that he was referring to speaking through Yugi like this. It must have been difficult, from the other side...

Yugi, on the other hand, was overwhelmed with emotion.

A few sobs escaped their body, as it was impossible to hold back anymore.

When it stopped, seemingly a little too abruptly, he spoke again.

"Your turn. I'm here. I'm not leaving yet. Tell me all about your day."

Yet.

It didn't matter if he left, Yugi seized the opportunity.

Voice wavering with emotion, and many uses of his name, Yugi told him in detail everything that went wrong.

Yugi wasn't sure which one of them was gently wiping the tears from his face.

"It's ok now. I know you had a bad day, but it's over now." Even those simple words were more comforting than he could have imagined.

"I'm so proud of you, Aibou."

Hearing that only made his tears fall faster.

"Ohh, Yugi..." Yugi's shoulders rolled, and it was a familiar reminder of times passed. "Relax. This...it's...easier if you're relaxed."

Yugi let his shoulders fall, and his muscles be drained of their tension. Yami was there. There was no reason to be tense anymore.

"Better...?" He wasn't used to them both speaking aloud. Usually their conversations were internal. Mental.

"Much. Thank you. I sense you want to ask me something?"

He was surprised Yami could still sense things about him that deeply. Could he read his mind?

"Why...can't I feel your mind or soul like before...?"

He waited a moment for his answer, trying not to panic when Yami went silent.

"Because you're blocking me. The only reason I can sense anything about you right now is because you relaxed. I wanted to approach you mentally without having to... possess you...but you're blocking me."

The response was immediate.

"I-I am?! I don't mean to, Yami, I promise, I-"

Yami took control enough to stop his words.

"I know. It's alright. You don't have to let me in like you used to anymore. You're moving on and I'm glad. Aibou, I can't do this forever. You must know that. I have to go soon, and I don't want to leave you hurting."

"N-No, Yami don't go yet...I can let you in...I want to let you in..."

"Aibou, it's alright, ok? I'll never truly leave you." His voice was quickly becoming a whisper.

"Don't go yet...I can let you in...You can have my heart...my mind...my soul..."

"You'll be alright, Aibou." whispers from his own lips.

Meanwhile, Yugi mentally reached for him, having to dig up painful memories to recall how to do so. He mentally reached and encountered the barrier Yami was talking about.

He quickly tore it down. Now he could feel his other half's mind. It was slipping quickly, but he could feel it.

He pulled it as close to him as possible.

A gasp escaped his lips, and he wasn't sure which one of them was responsible for it.

When his other half's mind touched his own, the tears returned. His body was his, now, and his alone.

"Yami...Yami, I..."

Love filtered through their newly reforged link between minds and souls.

Yugi's tears fell in the safety of his Yami's presence.

"Thank you..."

They didn't need words, but Yugi felt there was value in speaking them, anyways. Yami was communicating as they used to, pure emotions.

Yugi felt a stab of regret that wasn't his own.

/I still can't stay, Hikari.../

"I know..."

Yugi was shaking with anxiety. To lose him again would be hard.

/Aibou, you've been blocking me for the last two months./

"That long...?"

He was honestly surprised...what did that mean?

/When I go, don't block me...and you'll feel me with you. I never truly left you, Aibou, and I never truly will./

"P-Promise...?"

/I promise. I have to go, Hikari. It's going to be ok. It's always ok to talk to me. Even if you don't think I can hear. I will never, ever truly leave you./

"O-Okay...I...Yami Iloveyou..." it came out as one word, but he knew the other would know what it meant.

All at once, a breath left him, and so did Yami's spirit. He could feel it.

He gasped when he realized, and suddenly all the candles and mystery to it seemed pointless.

He mentally reached for his other half, and expected to find nothing. And for a while it felt a lot like nothing.

Until he got a single wave of emotion, from seemingly very far away.

Love.

Love, from the other side of existence.

Yugi blew out the candles, and crawled into bed after the longest day of his life.

He found a comfortable position in his blankets, and tried to completely relax his entire body. He wanted to get a message to Yami, and the spirit had said it'd be easier if he relaxed.

He sent back love. It took a while, but he received another wave of the emotion, and also a feeling of gratitude, and satisfaction.

He drifted to sleep, happier than he remembered being in two months.