A Night For You, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

A/N: The songs used are not mine, but so it's still a surprise, I'll credit them at the end.

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Yuugi tugged at the collar of his shirt, trying to ventilate the heat. He smiled with a sigh, despite the hot Egyptian sun. Especially since, despite the fact the sound check was now done and over with, Jounouchi was still beating away at his drums.

"Jou, stop. You're going to give the tech people a headache," he chided his friend.

"Aww, they love it! Don't ya guys?" the blonde yelled.

The only reply was a few middle fingers.

"Screw ya guys too!" he yelled, pounding the drum louder.

"Jou! You're gonna break it!" They did /not/ have time to be running around obtaining a new drum set. Again.

A paper fan materialized out of thin air. And hit the blonde square on the head.

"Jou, will you calm down already?" Anzu yelled. "I can hear you in my dressing room! How old are you again?"

"Twenty one next Tuesday. Oh, the damage I will cause," he stated proudly. "And I'm just tryin' to keep spirits up!"

"Just don't damage the band's image, ok? And there's no need for that," the young woman informed him. "Tonight's going to be a very special concert, isn't it Yuugi?"

The young man had to smile. Indeed, tonight was special. It was three years to the day his other half had gone on to the one place they could not follow. It was also the last night of the group's first tour, and they had all vowed to make it a night to remember.

"Is Mai…?" Yuugi began to ask.

"Singing off key in her room?" Anzu finished. "Yes."

The young man made a face.

"But I'm told our rooms here are soundproof."

"I hope so. See ya guys," he said, giving them a small wave and heading off.

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"Pharaoh? Looking out the skylight again?"

"There's so many stars tonight. It's breathtaking."

"That's cause of the power outage. This whole block's out at least for tonight." The boy shivered. He pulled his blanket around him.

"Are you cold?"

"No power, no heat," the teen explained.

"Ah, I see. So then the whole house…?"

"Is the same temperature as outside. Kinda. Just no wind. It is blowing pretty hard tonight." It was also the likely reason for the outage. Holding the blanket close, the teen stood by his other half in front of the skylight. "You're right. It is beautiful."

"Almost the most beautiful thing I ever seen."

"Almost?"

"No beauty could compare to you, Aibou."

The boy blushed, suddenly feeling quite warm.

That had been the first time the pharaoh had said anything of the sort to him. But it certainly wasn't the last. A soft knock on his door pulled him out of his memories.

"Come in," he called. The way the door was opened was almost cautious. "Anzu?"

"Hi," she greeted him.

"Is something wrong?"

"No… I… just wanted to ask you something."

'What is it? You can ask me anything, Anzu, you know that."

The young woman smiled. "Yes, I do. I was just wondering… Yuugi, are you sure you want /that/ song as a duet? I mean…uh… it's just…" she seemed to not be able to find the right words.

The young man smiled at his friend and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Of course I'm sure. You loved him too, didn't you?"

She laughed nervously. "I didn't exactly do a good job hiding it, did I?"

Yuugi blinked. "You mean you were trying?"

The two laughed. "Ok, I guess I had that one coming," she said.

"But there is one I'd like to do myself," he told her.

"Yuugi, we haven't even finished-"

"Yes we have. Barely. It is technically finished."

"You're dealing with Jou's tantrum."

"Yeah, I know."

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"YUUGI!" The blonde's voice could be heard all over the stage, so it wasn't a big surprise when he burst into the spiky haired man's dressing room.

"It's finished," Yuugi spoke quietly, not even looking up at his friend.

"No, it's not!" the blonde rebuttled. "We haven't completely figured out the bridge part and don't even make go into-"

"IT'S FINISHED!" Yuugi yelled.

Jou gulped. Yuugi didn't yell. Ever. He'd forgotten how easily his best friend's moods could change on this day.

The glare left the other's face and his expression softened. "I'm sorry Jou, but that song will be preformed tonight. Just do a beat in common time and you'll be fine. Besides," he added, smiling. "When have you ever had a problem winging it?"

"Boy," the blonde said. "Atem may be gone, but his attitude sure isn't. Not that that's a bad thing, really," he amended quickly.

"Jou," Yuugi said. "Sometimes I don't know whether to hug you or snap your neck."

Jou laughed. "Well, curtain's up in two hours. You've got till then to decide." He paused, then added. "You've also got till then to stop sulking."

"Jou?"

"Mmm?" he asked, then saw the look on his friend's face. At one time, that look had meant someone was getting a mind crush.

"I think I just decided," he said. The blonde took off, and despite the height difference (which was rapidly waning), the other was close behind. The two raced past Mai and Anzu on stage. The two women just yawned at he sight, looking very unimpressed.

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"And now… The ones you've all been waiting for… THE SHADOW GAMERS!"

"HELLO CAIRO!" Jou wasted no time capturing the crowd's attention, running all over the stage and high fiving who he could. The crowd screamed louder.

"That's it folks, encourage him," Yuugi said into his mike. "That one's got too much energy, anyway."

Jou spun around to face his friend. "And just what did I do to you, Yug?" he asked, his headset already in place so the fans could hear him.

"Shut up and get behind the drum set," Mai said nonchalantly into her own headset, picking up her guitar.

"Aww, everyone's ganging up on me today! Anzu, any love for your best friend Jou?

"I'm with the other two," she told him, taking her place behind the keyboards.

"I guess it's time to get the party started then," he said to the crowd, who screamed louder.

"Just move it," Yuugi said with a smirk.

"I'm going, I'm going, see me go," Jou said, finally taking his place.

"All right," Mai said to the cheering fans. "Now that that animal's reeled in, how about we get this show going?"

The fans screamed out their positive reply.

"Ok, everyone," Yuugi told the crowd, practically panting. "We're down to our last couple songs. They're both new ones; we haven't even preformed them anywhere- until today. You guys are the first to ever hear these next two."

The crowd cheered its approval.

"Does that mean you want to hear them?"

If possible, they cheered more loudly.

"Well then, shall we?"

Anzu handed the keyboards over to Mai and took a freehanded mike. The brunette had had to give the blonde a crash course in them just for this song. Mai began the almost nonexistent melody for a few measures, then Anzu and Jou joined in; the girl singing, the boy on the drums.

"If one day you discover him," she began. "Broken down, he's lost everything; no cars, no fancy clothes to make him who he's not; the woman at his side is all that he has got..."

Yuugi smiled as he began his part. "Why do you ask him to move heaven and earth, to prove his love has worth?"

It was a good thing Anzu joined him for the chorus. As she continued, the sight he saw left him dumbfounded for several seconds.

It was Atem, dressed completely as the pharaoh he had once been, was standing at the far end of the stage, looking very proud of his partner.

"Would he walk on water?
Would he run through fire?"

Yuugi smiled as he thought, 'I was hoping you'd come.'

"Would he stand before you when it's down to the wire?"

The familiar voice answered. 'Of course I did.'

Ecstatically happy, the young man continued the song with his friend.

"Would he give his life up
To be all he can?
Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?"

Smiling knowingly, Anzu continued the second verse on her own.

'Can they all see him?' Yuugi wondered, but saw the pharaoh shake his head.

"If by chance all he had to give you was three words wrapped around your finger?
Would that be deep enough at the end of every day?
And how will you ever know if a man is what he says?"

Yuugi sang his next part with everything he had and, even as Anzu joined in for the chorus, he hard ever broke eye contact with the former pharaoh, novels without words being spoken between them.

"Why do you ask him to move heaven and earth to prove his love has worth?
Would he walk on water
Would he run through fire
Would he stand before you
When it's down to the wire
Would he give his life up to be all he can
Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?"

This entire song was about Atem, true, but Yuugi had written this part just for him. He faced the other, knowing full well how strange it would look.

"He never gives up
Lets go of his dreams
His world goes around for his one true belief
Is that how you know
Is that what it means?

Then Anzu joined him again. Yuugi, so happy to see his other half, forgot everything else but the other and his song.

"Would he walk on water
Would he run through fire
Would he stand before you
When it's down to the wire
Would he give his life up
To be all he can
Is that, is that, is that...

Tea trailed off to let Yuugi sing the last part on his own.

"How you measure a man?"

The cheering and screaming brought Yuugi back down to earth. He blinked, as if just waking up, and looked out at his cheering fans. His head jerked back to where the pharaoh had been sitting. Good. Still there.

'Don't go. Not yet.'

'I'm right here, aibou. Always have been.'

He spun around to face the group. 'Now!' he mouthed to them, and there was not question about what he meant.

Anzu and Mai quickly went back to their original places, and a soft piano sound from the brunette's keyboards could be heard. Gradually, they all joined in, and lastly, Yuugi began to sing his self-written words of love and regret, as well as his remaining hope for the future, his eyes never leaving his beloved other half.

"When the world wasn't upside down, I could take all the time I had
But I'm not going to wait when a moment can vanish so fast

'Cuz every kiss is a kiss you can never get back

Lift me up in your eyes
If you told me that is what Heaven is, well, you'd be right
I've been waiting forever for this
This is the night

When the answer to all my dreams is as close as a touch away
Why am I here holding back what I'm trying to say?

Lift me up in your eyes
If you told me that is what Heaven is, well, you'd be right
Hold me close to your heart
I would go with you to the ends of the Earth and we'll fly
I've been waiting forever for this
This is the night"

Yuugi practically choked on his next line, but managed to get it out fluidly.

"This is the night where we capture forever and all our tomorrows begin
After tonight, we will never be lonely again

The phantom of the pharaoh walked up to his partner. "To hold you in any higher regard is not possible. That will be a night to remember, aibou, I promise you that." He kissed his other half's cheek softly, then was there no longer. Even the screaming of the crowded stadium could not stop Yuugi's tears. But he smiled through them, thanking the people for coming.

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"He showed up, didn't Yug?" Jou asked his friend as the group made their way back to their dressing rooms.

"Yeah," he replied softly. "He did."

"You were planning it from the start," the blonde accused.

"More like hoping," the other replied, entering his room. Immediately, he saw a piece of tan-ish paper on the make up table. In fact, it looked like… "Papyrus," Yuugi breathed.

"Pa-what?" Jou asked, but Yuugi didn't seem to hear his friend, as he was walking toward the table.

"Papyrus," Anzu repeated. "It's what Ancient Egyptians used for paper."

"Eh? So… that's…?"

"Probably from Atem."

"But then, it's probably written in those weird characters…"

"Despite what you may think, Jou," Yuugi said from across the room. "I'm not always just sulking when I'm alone. I've been learning hieroglyphics too."

"Too? So you admit it! You have been sulking!"

"Come on Jou," Mai said, pulling him towards the door. "Let's let Yuugi translate in peace."

"Atem, your handwriting's awful!" A chill went down his spine. After looking nervously around him, he turned his attention back to the writing.

'A beautiful and blinding morning
The world outside begins to breathe
See clouds arriving without warning
I need you here to shelter me

And I know that only time will tell us how
To carry on without each other

So keep me awake to memorize you
Give me more time to feel this way
We can't stay like this forever
But I can have you next to me today

If I could make these moments endless
If I could stop the winds of change
If we just keep our eyes wide open
Then everything would stay the same

And I know that only time will tell me how
We'll carry on without each other

So keep me awake for every moment
Give us more time to be this way
We can't stay like this forever
But I can have you next to me today

We'll let tomorrow wait, you're here, right now, with me
All my fears just fall away, when you are all I see

We can't stay this way forever
But I have you here today

And I will remember
Oh I will remember
Remember all the love we shared today'

Yuugi gripped the paper close to him. His legs buckled under him as tears flowed freely down his face. "Atem," he whispered. "I love you too. And miss you. So much."

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A/N: Ok, in order of appearance: 'Measure Of A Man' and 'This Is The Night' by Clay Aiken, and 'Awake' by Josh Groban.