Hey guys C: Chapter 2 for you. This would have been up around lunchtime GMT but I couldn't login until now D:

Some past-Kingcrabshipping in this one, but if you don't like the pairing don't worry, I'm not planning for it to be intrusive C: I love it to bits, it's my 5Ds OTP, but this is a Synchro story. C:

Yu-Gi-Oh! DM & 5Ds (c) Kazuki Takahashi.

The next morning Yuusei woke up still smiling after a pleasant dream, though all he could remember from it was a low laugh and a pair of strong, lean, browned hands. He opened his eyes and stretched, swinging his legs onto the floor and working a kink from his neck. He glanced at a clock and shrugged – it was earlier than he usually woke up, but seeing as he was awake anyways he figured he might as well get up.

Everything was as it should be in the workshop, nothing had changed since he fell asleep. He shrugged and started getting dressed. Just as he was about to pull a new shirt on he heard footsteps and turned around. He smiled up at the intruder, Atem.

"Good morning," Yuusei said as Atem stepped onto the stairway. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you," Atem replied, his eyes on Yuusei's bared torso. "Very well, actually. Yourself?"

As they exchanged small talk, Yuusei noticed that Atem was rather openly examining his muscled chest and stomach, glancing over the lines of scars on his midsection from various dangerous duels. It made that feeling of anticipation return at a low burn under his skin. He didn't put the shirt on for some minutes.

Yuusei led him into the kitchen area and fixed him some breakfast, chatting with him idly.

"We need to get you some clothes of your own," Yuusei mused, watching him with his chin in hand. "I know Crow wouldn't mind sharing his clothes with you, but if you're gonna be here for a while you need some of your own."

Atem hesitated before replying, setting his mug of coffee down. "Yuusei… I'm afraid I don't have any money, and I wouldn't wish to depend on your charity—"

"Nonsense," Yuusei cut him off firmly with a wave of his hand. "It's the least I could do after what you did with Paradox."

Atem still looked uncomfortable. "Not to be rude, Yuusei, but I didn't duel him just for you. I duelled him to save my friends, too."

"I know," Yuusei smiled. "I meant getting my Stardust back from him. You didn't have to do that."

Atem had nothing to say to that, though he looked down and frowned at his hands clasped on the table.

"For a Pharaoh you're pretty uncomfortable with gifts, aren't you?" Yuusei smiled, taking a swig of his own coffee.

"Charity is not giving gifts," Atem said quietly.

Yuusei studied him for a few moments. "Well if that's the problem you'll just have to get a job and pay me back later."

Atem looked up sharply and a small smile formed, brightening his rather stormy expression. "Alright. What sort of job do you think I'd be suited for?"

The immediate thought that leapt to mind was a professional duellist of course, but that was impossible. Atem didn't have the deck he was used to – Yugi's deck – and in any case the rules of duelling and even the monsters themselves had changed so much since Yugi's time the game was almost another thing entirely. Atem would have to learn a whole new way of duelling for that to work. And it might pain him to be reminded of the loss of his deck.

Maybe a role with people… but he would have to learn recent history and trends to be able to really hold a conversation without it being obvious he had not grown up in the current time.

From the way Atem was looking at him, his face must have betrayed his thoughts.

"We'll think of something," Yuusei said. "Did you ever ride on a motorcycle, back then?"

"No, I didn't," Atem replied, smiling a little at the rather obvious conversation shift. "It was all blimps and planes, I'm afraid."

"Well then, today should be a treat for you," Yuusei smiled. "If Crow can be persuaded to lend you his leathers, you should come for a ride with me. We need to travel a bit to get to the clothes stores anyway."

"Do you think he would?"

"I don't see why not. Heck, he'd probably be falling over himself to offer." Yuusei smiled. "Jack too, if he was shorter."

Atem also smiled. "Your Jack reminds me of Kaiba. The attitude is almost uncannily similar."

Yuusei chuckled. "I'm sure Jack would be pleased to hear that. Oh, the Kaiba Dome is still standing, if you'd like to take a look later."

"Really? After all this time?" Atem replied, leaning forwards a little.

"Yeah. Well it got converted into a racing track for riding duels, but it's still essentially the same. You met there for the semi-finals of the Battle City Tournament, didn't you?"

"Yes, we did," Atem said softly, eyes distant. "That was an eventful tournament, all right." He hesitated before speaking again. "Yuusei, I can't help but ask… are any of them still alive?"

Yuusei reached across the table and put his hand over Atem's, his expression sad. "I know there's a Wheeler relative around, but that's all I know about your friends. The Kaibas are gone, though. I'm sorry."

Atem was silent for a moment, then murmured something in Ancient Egyptian that sounded like a prayer. "Thank you for not hiding that from me, Yuusei." He said then; he glanced down to Yuusei's hand and smiled faintly. "Thank you." For a moment Yuusei thought Atem was going to turn his hand so their fingers were entwined, and carefully caught his breath; the thought sending hot shivers through his body.

As loud footsteps and voices reached them, Yuusei couldn't help but wish in exasperation that his friends would have woken up a little later. He took his hand away and busied himself washing the few dishes they had dirtied with breakfast. He could feel Atem's eyes on his back every second until Jack and Crow diverted his attention, joking and chatting with him. Their awe seemed to have faded a little, though they were still a little reserved.

"Crow," Yuusei said casually at a natural lull in the conversation, leaning against the sink and keeping his hands busy by folding and refolding the towel. "Were you planning on riding anywhere today?"

"Nah, not for any reason. Maybe to just go for a spin. Why?"

"I was gonna take Atem out and around on my Runner, and he needs leathers for that. Would that be alright?"

"Sure, man! Of course! Take 'em, by all means!" Crow exclaimed, slapping Atem jocularly on the shoulder and grinning ear to ear. Atem more hesitantly smiled back, rolling his shoulder surreptitiously.

"My thanks, Crow," Atem said, inclining his head politely. "I'll take care of them."

"Heh, even if you fall off, they'll take care of you," Crow grinned. "I've lost count of the number of times they've saved my life."

Jack and Yuusei nodded in agreement, each remembering incidents where only the leather on them had protected them from more serious harm – and both had been hurt pretty badly while duelling. Their eyes met and Jack unconsciously flexed his weakened left arm while Yuusei rubbed his stomach, where he had almost been impaled after duelling with Kiryu. Atem watched them out of the corners of his eyes, missing nothing as he traded stories of duelling with Crow, who was eager to discuss duelling with the King of Games himself.

After breakfast Yuusei and Atem changed into riding leather gear. When Atem walked downstairs in Crow's get-up, Yuusei felt a slow smile on his lips. He looked damn fine in tight leather, and he seemed to know it too.

"This reminds me of Yugi," He joked. "He was rather fond of leather clothing."

"Yes, I remember," Yuusei smiled, and pulled his helmet on, a comforting and familiar weight on his head and neck.

"Come on, New Domino won't discover itself. I didn't build the bike to carry two people, but seeing as you're pretty slim I think we can both fit on." So saying he mounted his Runner and shifted as far forwards as he could without hurting more delicate parts of himself and did a quick test of the systems; all functional and ready to go.

Atem more hesitantly climbed on, trying not to jostle Yuusei too much as he found his seat.

"Feet secure? Good. But you'll have to hang on; I don't plan on going slowly. Just hang on around my waist." Yuusei instructed him casually, pulling on his arms when Atem rather shyly wrapped his arms around him, so that he was actually hanging on. With that low burn under his skin again, Yuusei pulled until they were pressed against each other, Atem's legs slotted in perfectly behind Yuusei's almost as if they were spooning. They fitted on, just barely. "There, that's more secure. Ready to go?"

Jack and Crow exchanged knowing looks as they watched Yuusei pull Atem closer. Jack's expression became frosty, an ugly look that no one but Crow was watching for.

"Ready," Atem grinned, slotting the visor down on his borrowed helmet.

Yuusei laughed darkly and revved the engine, lightly tapping his foot on the accelerator pedal and zooming out of Zora's workshop basement at high speed. Atem gasped in terror, the sound clear over the in-helmet communications he and Bruno had installed for the WRGP. His arms tightened around Yuusei in shock and his legs tensed, hanging onto Yuusei and the Runner for dear life as they sped around corners.

A wide grin stretched Yuusei's mouth, the joy of riding coupled with the intense thrill Atem's clinging was giving him filling him up. He didn't slow down, knowing that if he did it would take longer for Atem to get used to it. He didn't speed up much more, though, out of consideration.

After some time roaming the streets and highways, Atem's harsh static-burst breathing evened out to something more normal, and his hands stopped their death-grip on Yuusei's jacket, though he remained close and held on tight.

"Alright now?" Yuusei asked through the comm-system.

"Yes, thank you," Atem replied, though his voice was still a little panicky. "You're just going so fast."

"Do you want to stop?"

"No, keep going," Atem replied, and Yuusei could hear the smile in his voice. "Go faster, if you want." He leaned more into the curve of Yuusei's back, definitely spooning against him now.

Yuusei pretended not to notice, feeling rather hot under the helmet and enjoying it. This attraction between them… it was strange, but it felt so natural. He took them around Domino, doing his best impression of a tour guide.

"And there's what was the Satellite." He slowed the bike, looking over at what had been his home for the better part of eighteen years. It looked so different nowadays, he almost couldn't reconcile his harsh memories of living on the streets and under them, under the thumb of the police, with what he saw before him. Even seeing Daedalus Bridge made him feel uncomfortable; it was a reminder of Goodwin, and all he had done, both good and bad.

"You said the bridges are all duelling tracks?" Atem said after a few moments, squeezing his arms slightly as if they were embracing. Yuusei smiled to himself, grateful for the distraction.

"Yeah. If you engage a Speed World card while on those, the whole thing gets cordoned off for the duel. It's great – there's no danger to the city or crashing into people if you lose control."

"That sounds remarkable," Atem marvelled as they sped up again, passing behind a few buildings and out of view of the Satellite. "And the people of the city, they're all right with that? Their journeys being diverted so casually?"

"Yeah," Yuusei smiled. "Neo Domino City has a great tradition of duelling; it's the most popular sport or profession for miles around. And even if some people begrudge being diverted, they're diverted into alternate routes that aren't too far out of their way. It works out pretty well."

"That must have taken some planning," Atem remarked.

"Yes," Yuusei chuckled. "It took almost a year for all of it to be completed. It took a little longer for people to accept Satellites, but it all went pretty smoothly after that."

They continued on their tour, Atem experiencing all of Neo Domino and marvelling at the changes made since Yugi's day. It was jarring sometimes, seeing buildings that had hardly changed at all, such as the Kaiba Dome, standing beside huge skyscrapers made of glass and steel with holographic displays that screamed of the future.

Atem grew quieter the more he saw. There was no question he enjoyed the tour, but as he saw more of the city's people he was more acutely aware of how he did not fit in at all. He felt like a relic.

Noticing his discomfort, Yuusei pulled into a quiet layby and stopped the bike. He turned slightly in his seat to look at Atem over his shoulder. "I know it's all very different," He said quietly, his voice transmitted more through the comm-system than the air, "But you'll feel at home in no time, I promise. You managed with Yugi's world just fine."

"I was sharing his mind back then," Atem pointed out, looking at the tall buildings everywhere. "I was able to learn directly through thought, rather than through books. It was more… instinctual. If I didn't know something, his mind would supply the answer." Atem was silent for some time. "I hope he was happy."

Yuusei couldn't deny that would be hard to get around. "Atem," He said firmly, drawing the other man's gaze back to himself. "You need to stop thinking about the past. You're here now. You should enjoy it. There are many wonders here that you couldn't have imaged back then. I know it's hard to let go of them, of Yugi, but – and I mean this as kindly as possible – they're gone now. If your coming is a sign of trouble to come, you need to be focussed on the here and now, to help us. To help me."

Atem looked down for a moment, rebuked. "You're right, of course. I apologise."

Yuusei smiled, tilting his head slightly to examine the man sitting behind him. "You're a remarkable person, Atem. I'm sure you can adapt."

They continued on their way until they reached the main shopping district, filled with the rich and trendy toting armfuls of bags on their arms and the unlucky arms of those dragged along for the day. Yuusei parked his bike in one of the bays and pulled Atem aside before they went any further.

"Now, we might get a little mobbed."

"How do you mean?" Atem asked, flicking up his visor.

Yuusei's cheeks darkened a little in a flush. "I'm quite well known, nowadays. People come up to me in the street. It's all a bit strange, but it does no harm, I guess. And when you take the helmet off you're going to be taken for a King of Games lookalike."

Atem grinned at the irony. "It's alright, the same thing used to happen to Yugi. I'm used to being 'mobbed', as you say. I'll keep quiet about who I am and let you field the questions."

Yuusei clapped him on the shoulder and took off his helmet, shaking his head slightly to free his hair from the helmet-mould it had shaped itself into. Atem smiled at the sight and followed suit.

Sure enough, as they moved through the district and through the shops, Yuusei was kept busy talking to his fans and diverting their attention from Atem. Everywhere they went, there were curious looks and questions as to why the hero of the city had acquired a new friend, an impressionist at that, but Atem was quickly dismissed in favour of talking to Yuusei Fudo himself.

Atem didn't mind at all: for all his life he had been the one in the spotlight, under the fans' attention. It was refreshing to be freed of that, and rather interesting to see how Yuusei dealt with it.

Plus it was a good excuse to watch Yuusei. He couldn't deny that he was attracted to Yuusei, rather powerfully in fact. It wasn't just the buzz of seeing him again and getting to talk to him, it was something else. Something primal that made his heart beat faster and adrenaline to pump through his veins as he watched Yuusei talk and laugh, watched how he walked and how he moved his strong-looking hands. The man was rather reserved around his fans, but Atem had experienced the warmth he reserved for friends first hand.

As he picked out some clothes to try on, he wondered idly why he had been brought to Yuusei's time. The man seemed far too capable to need help with anything, let alone a duel, and his friends were professionals and experts in that field anyway. Atem was sure that if it came down to more victory-or-death type duels, he would be useless. He knew nothing of this modern form of duelling, and the cards he was used to - with or without them on his belt – would be considered archaic and too old to duel with. They could not counter any of these new card attacks.

During the duel with Paradox, Atem had known that Yuusei's cards had been the most effective against the man. Naturally so, as he had used cards and techniques from the same era as Paradox, or at least closer to Paradox's level than Atem or Jaden had been. He could be no help against any duelling threats, and he knew next to nothing of this world.

So he was left to wonder: why was he here?

Yuusei interrupted his thoughts by coming up to him, smiling slightly. Atem realised the fans had mostly dispersed or were too shy to come up to Yuusei. "Alright? You look troubled."

"Yes, thank you. I was going to try these on."

"Good choices," Yuusei remarked, looking at the clothes Atem had picked out. Atem had taken care to resist the impulse to find clothes like Yugi had worn.

As tempting as it had been to seek comfort in familiar clothing, Atem knew that if he did he would be forever seen as a Yugi-lookalike, and he wanted to be seen as his own person. He was Atem, not Yugi, and not the amnesiac Yami that Yugi had known. He was a different man entirely.

To that end, he had picked out clothes that were dark, easy to blend into crowds with. Simple tight jeans and shirts, a few hooded jumpers that seemed to be all the rage. They weren't all black and navy, however. Many of them had colourful designs splashed over them in abstract paint patterns. He had found some boots as well that looked serviceable; jet black matte leather that reached up to his knees. He had picked them out in the knowledge that his main form of transport here would be by motorcycle with Yuusei and his friends, and he had noticed they all wore rather sturdy clothes and boots most of the time due to their penchant for riding their motorcycles.

In the changing rooms, Atem was dimly shocked at his appearance. He touched his cheeks and hair, unused to seeing himself as the tanned and lithely muscular pharaoh he had been. He had been expecting pale skin and a softer frame, more like Yugi's. When he had been Yami, he had looked more like Yugi did. Now he looked just the way he had in Egypt. With modern clothes, of course, and less gold jewellery. That had been locked away safely at the basement place Yuusei and his friends lived in, for fear of burglary.

In these new clothes he looked much different. It seemed he had good taste in modern clothing; he had picked out clothes that not only fit him, but that seemed to flatter him. He thought he looked good, anyway. When he opened the door to ask Yuusei's opinion on some of them, he was rewarded by the look on Yuusei's face. Even if he looked ridiculous, Yuusei liked it. It made heat pulse through him and the adrenaline pumped faster. Before deciding whether to get the clothes, along with some other items such as underwear he hadn't asked Yuusei's opinion on, he surreptitiously checked the price of them. He was satisfied that they weren't extortionately expensive, though all together they still came to a large sum.

"Thank you, Yuusei," Atem said quietly as they headed back to the motorcycle. "I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

Yuusei was about to say 'don't worry about it', but stopped himself, remembering Atem's reaction to charity before. So instead he said, "Take as long as you need. I don't mind gradual repayments."

Atem's smile widened and he seemed content with that answer.

They took the long way back to Poppo Clock, giving Atem a continuation of the tour. He was happier now, dwelling less on comparisons to the Domino City he had known through Yugi, and enjoying himself in the present.

When they got back to the workshop, Atem changed into his new clothes and handed Crow his leathers back with grateful thanks. Crow was just happy to have helped, and assured him he could borrow them whenever he liked.

Jack came up to Yuusei, who was compulsively checking his motorcycle. It was just them in the room, Crow having gone upstairs to put his leathers away while Atem changed his clothes.

"What's up, Jack?" Yuusei asked.

Jack got straight to the point, standing with his arms folded and a cross expression on his face. "You were getting very touchy-feely with him earlier."

"Well yes, I didn't want him to get killed from not hanging on properly." Yuusei straightened and looked up at Jack. "What's the problem?"

"You practically jumped for joy when he arrived, and every time he walks in a room you get all happy and smiley."

Yuusei raised an eyebrow. "So I'm happy to see him again. How is that a bad thing?"

"You're never that happy. Not even with me." Jack replied coldly. "Even back then."

Yuusei of course knew what he was referring to, and sighed. "Let's not get into this, Jack. That was a long time ago."

"A couple of months at most, Yuusei. You want to sleep with him, don't you?"

Yuusei flushed darkly and frowned up at him. "Jack, stop it. What, are you jealous? You were the one who said we should stop – being together."

Jack scowled. "You weren't happy with me, Yuusei. You just kept moping over Bruno and that freak Z-One. And you know I can't stand competition for you."

Hurt flashed through Yuusei's chest at Jack's accusations. Even after all this time and Yuusei's efforts to gentle him, Jack could still be one of the cruellest people Yuusei knew. And he knew Yuusei intimately, he knew what hurt him most.

"That was low, Jack."

He refused to apologise; in fact his expression got more annoyed. "I'm not saying I regret breaking up, Yuusei. It was fun, but we both had to move on. I accept that." He waved a hand magnanimously and the emotional pain he had caused Yuusei faded a little. "But I can't stand seeing you flirt with him. It's painfully obvious, Yuusei, and you can be sure Atem knows it too. He hasn't been here two days yet, and we don't know how long he'll be here for. You're being stupid, and that's not like you."

Yuusei flushed again. "What do you want me to do, Jack? Stop being me just because you're… jealous, or whatever this is about?"

Jack shook his head and said quietly, "Don't get yourself hurt again."

Yuusei was speechless from Jack's warning, and watched dumbstruck as Jack walked out, calling back that he was going for some fresh air. He leaned against his motorcycle and frowned down at the floor.

Had he really been so obvious?

As was the way with all private conversations, it hadn't been as private as the participants had thought. Up on the metal staircase, Atem silently backed away into his room, giving Yuusei some privacy.

He wasn't greatly surprised that the attraction he felt to Yuusei was reciprocated; Yuusei had responded to his presence with surprising warmth, and the unconscious touches that had fired both their blood. He supposed it wasn't a great shock that Yuusei preferred men, either. Yugi had told him that as time went on, behaviour of that sort was more tolerated. And this was the future, after all. It made sense for that trend to continue.

The news also brought a slight smile to his face; back in Yugi's time, Atem had needed to keep his attractions to some of the men Yugi had met a secret. Yugi had been rather an innocent, after all, and as Yami the amnesiac spirit he hadn't really understood his own feelings; they had confused him, informed by Yugi's own embarrassment over the topic of sex, never mind sexuality.

He gave Yuusei some more time to himself before going downstairs. He acted as if he hadn't overheard the semi-argument between the two old friends and apparent ex-lovers. Yuusei acted as if everything was normal, though he seemed a little more reserved with Atem than he had been.

They sat down together and talked. Atem tried to draw him out again with mixed degrees of success. When Crow bustled in, saying he needed space to cook if they wanted to be fed, Atem casually put his hand on Yuusei's back as they walked.

"Tell me what's the matter," he said quietly, sitting down with him and letting his hand linger in a slow stroke across Yuusei's back before he removed it. Yuusei relaxed more at the touch and smiled.

"It's nothing, Atem. Just Jack being annoying."

"He seems a good friend," Atem remarked. "He cares about you a great deal, anyone can see that."

Yuusei's eyes flickered, suspicious that Atem had overheard them after all. Atem smiled blankly, giving nothing away with the expert poker face that had come in handy so many times in his duels.

Atem patted Yuusei's knee and nodded to the motorcycles across the room. "So how does duelling on one of those work, precisely?"

Yuusei grinned and immediately launched into a complicated explanation involving speed counters, turn taking, corners and special effects of certain cards. Atem was happy to listen, seeing how Yuusei brightened at the chance to explain his passion and his profession. He soaked up the information like a sponge, curious and feeling rather better about his place in this confusing new world as he learned about this type of duelling, that seemed to underpin society here.

As they moved into an even more complex explanation about Synchro-Summoning, something Atem had been curious about ever since Yuusei's ingenious use of the technique against Paradox, Yuusei seemed even happier, taking out his deck and laying some cards out on the floor to show possible routes to summoning something.

In the kitchen, Crow smiled to himself. It seemed Yuusei had found something to make him smile at last, after the horrors of facing off against Z-One, and Bruno's defection and redemption. He pushed the thought of Bruno away – the man's loss still grieved him deeply – and concentrated instead on listening to Yuusei talk on about his beloved Stardust Dragon. He may have lost Bruno, but he was glad Yuusei was happy again, that he had found someone to talk to as he couldn't talk to Crow or Jack. And who better than the King of Games himself?

Crow smirked. Who better than someone who clearly wanted Yuusei as badly as Yuusei wanted him? It seemed things were going to get interesting again.

There you go C:

Yes, I still ship Bruno/Crow. Shush.

Hope you all enjoyed, if you could take a moment to review I'd really appreciate it ^^ See you in the next chapter~