SW: *sniff*

Yugi: Better?

SW: Yeah…I kinda just…I don't know…

Malik: It's weird. You haven't really written anything in like four days.

Bakura: *scoff* Your phone really meant that much to you?

SW: Thank heavens for Pandora (don't own) or I would have died from lack of music.

Thank you to IlluminatedWord (I'm happy the chapter made you happy I'm glad you like the Bronzeshipping…and I have had to find new ways to listen to music because I can really only write when I'm listening to it), snow-kim (Yeah! Everyone is together! ;) You'll just have to wait to see if Isis will have and keep a baby!), samaurai (I'm sure Yugi'll be able to let go of the past ;)), takininja13 (Haha thanks, I didn't realize how music meant until I didn't have my phone), Goshikku Hime wa Yami-san (I'm glad you liked the Bakushipping! Hehe I hope you like this chapter too), and JapanT'sTheName (OMR I loved your review(s)! They made me squeal! I am so happy that you like my writing! My style has most definitely changed since I started and I'm glad people like it! My update schedule is Wednesday and Sunday BTW ;). I know how you feel about yaoi lol I'm Roman Catholic and we don't actual 'support' gays and all that, but hey, my mind works in weird ways. I am so happy that you like my writing! Thank you!) for reviewing! Holy crap…if you guys hadn't noticed, the longer the review, the longer the response, and JapanT'sTheName most definitely takes the cake.

Enjoy!

Yami blinked in shock as he woke up in a shadowed hallway, instantly recognizing the door to his soul room. Why he had materialized outside of the door decorated with an Eye of Wdjat was a question in itself, and Yami's brow furrowed when he saw a pure white wooden door across the hall from his dark metal one.

Walking up to it, he placed a hand on the doorknob, surprised to feel a rush of welcoming run through him. Opening it slowly, he took in the carpeted floor covered in games and puzzles, mostly Duel Monsters cards. An entire wall was covered in different instruments, some on shelves, others leaning against it. He could tell that music held an important part in Yugi's life. The walls were painted in a piercing shade of white, and Yami couldn't help but bask in the purity of this room.

However, in one corner, there was a small speck of darkness, hovering lightly over a table holding three pictures. He walked over, careful not to make any sounds that would disturb the sleeping boy in the bed on the other side of the room. How he had been transported here without his knowing, he had no clue, but he didn't have any doubts that this was Yugi's soul room.

Two of the pictures were covered in a small amount of dust, Yugi must have moved on recently. He didn't touch the pictures, knowing that even a small change to the soul room could cause huge problems. He knelt in front of the table, squinting past the dust to see one picture containing two blurred people holding onto each other. Yugi did live with his grandfather, maybe these were his parents? The other picture held the same people, but this time appeared to be swinging a small boy between them. Even through the dust and the blurred picture, Yami was able to tell that the child was Yugi. The family they would never have together?

The last picture caused Yami to frown. It was definitely more recent. And there was a clarity about it that seemed to cause the picture to shimmer, like it was covered in tears. Yami took in the smirking man in the photo, noticing the similarities between him and the man. Was this the Atem everyone compared him to on the first day? What did Yugi feel for him?

Yami heard a small scream and he turned around just in time to see two small hands throw a blanket over star-shaped hair. His mouth quirked in a smile as he saw a familiar body curled up under the blankets on the twin-size bed.

"Hello, Yugi."

Two amethyst eyes peeked out from the blanket and stared wide-eyed at the man in front of him. "Y-Yami-kun? What are you doing in my room?"

"Good question, Little One." It still confused him to no end that he had appeared outside Yugi's soul room, he had used no magic that he knew of, but then again the shadows had a mind of their own and were often known to work by themselves when they truly wanted something to happen. What he wondered about the most was that his own soul room was connected to Yugi's.

Yugi crawled out of the blankets with a pout, wearing blue pajamas covered in stars. "I'm not that little!" He looked around and was surprised not to see the familiarity of his own room. "Where are we?"

Yami walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, pretending not to notice the way Yugi blushed. "Your soul room. A visual representation of what's inside you."

Yugi looked around with wide eyes and nodded his head. Both lost themselves in their own thoughts as they each examined the room around them. He moved his hand to his arm and pinched himself. Yami whipped his head around at the yelp and had to stop himself from laughing when he saw a pouting Yugi, rubbing the sore place on his arm. "Ok, so I know I'm not dreaming."

Yami rolled his eyes and Yugi's pout grew. "Hey! You can't blame me! This is some crazy stuff here!" He felt a rush of happiness run through him as he stared at Yami as he shook his head back and forth.
"Oh, Little O-" Yami is cut off as Yugi leaned forward and pressed his lips to his.

Yugi blinked as he stared into Yami's eyes before jerking his head back and covering his lips. "I'm sorry! I don't even know why I did that!"

"It's-It's alright, Yugi." He had enjoyed that way more that he should have. He just met Yugi for crying out loud!
Yugi shook his head and looked over to the table holding the pictures and Yami followed his stare. Yami could figure out which one in particular Yugi was looking at. "Yugi, who's Atem?"

At the mention of the name, Yugi's entire demeanor changed. His shoulders slumped and tears filled his eyes. "He was-was my boyfriend."

Great. Yami cringed and bit the inside of his cheek. "Was?"

"He d-died in a car accident. He saved my life." Yugi sniffled and stared at his hands.

Yami looked over at Yugi from the corner of his eyes. "How long ago?"

"Almost a year. The anniversary is in a month." Yugi brought his knees up and hugged them to his chest. "I don't know how I'll get through it."

Yami's heart panged and he moved to his hands and knees, tilting his head so he could look up into Yugi's eyes, which had been staring at the bed in front of him. "You don't have to go through it alone, you know."

Yugi opened his mouth a little to give a small response, but the sounds died in his throat as Yami covered his mouth with his own. Yami slid his tongue into Yugi's mouth, listening to the following mewl. He withdrew after a minute and stared at a dazed Yugi, who moved a hand to touch his lips tenderly. "Let me help you, Yugi."

Yugi licked his lips, surprising himself with the thought that he missed the taste of Yami. Flicking his eyes once more to the table with Atem's picture, he thought about what Yami had said. What would Atem want him to do? He missed the man, but he would never get him back. When was it time to move on? Was he ready for that?

Swallowing against the lump in his throat, Yugi slowly nodded his head. He met Yami's eyes to see him smiling. Yami took his hand and lay down on the bed, pulling Yugi with him and making sure that his back was to the pictures.

He placed a tender kiss on Yugi's forehead before he rested his head on the pillow, smirking at the blush that had appeared on Yugi's face. "Good night, Yugi."

"Good night, Yami-…chan."

Marik's brow furrowed when he found himself in a hallway. Where was he? That spell should have transported him to Malik's soul room, and he had encountered no barriers that would have dropped him off somewhere else. His eyes widened when he saw two doors, on either side of the hallway, one a beautiful shade of purple, the other made of shining metal that Marik had always prided himself on.

Walking up to his door and opening it quickly to peer inside, Marik took in the squirming shadows and bondage instruments. Yep, this was definitely his room, but whose was…

Marik closed his door with and turned around with a scowl. He walked determinedly up to the second door and opened it, walking into the room without a second thought. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

Beautifully painted sand and sky, almost realistic, covered three of the walls, and Marik could just barely feel a hot breeze that had accompanied many of the days he had spent in Egypt. The last wall was something that confused the man, though. It was completely black, the solid coloring contrasting deeply with the blue and light brown of the other walls. There was absolutely nothing on it, as if someone had forcefully removed that wall from their memory. He turned towards the bed that was on the opposite wall and smirked.

Malik was splayed out on his stomach, his head buried into his pillow with only a thin sheet covering him. However, the sheet had fallen down and his bare back greeted Marik. The smirk on his lips faded as he took in the disheveled form panting on the bed, as if in pain. His mouth turned in a frown as he took in the angry red lines, some still having scabs, on Malik's back, looking much newer and a lot more painful than the scars he saw in the physical realm.

He crossed the room and placed a firm hand on Malik's shoulder. The form under him moaned and hands fisted sheets next to the pillow. "Go away, Mahad. I do not wish to speak with anyone right now."

The utterly defeated tone in Malik's voice contrasted greatly to the confident and cocky tone Marik had heard him speak with before. He scowled as he wondered what could have happened to cause this. Of course it had something to do with his back, but he doubted that it was just the scars that were affecting his lover's soul room so greatly.

"I am not Mahad."

Malik's entire body stiffened, and thinking Marik was someone else, quietly whimpered into the pillow. "Please, no."

Who did Malik think he was? "Malik, look at me."

Starting to shake, Malik turned his head to the side and reluctantly opened his eyes. Gasping, and the fear in his form disappearing, Malik turned on his side, hiding his back from Marik. He expertly hid the wince from the movement, though the man wasn't convinced. "Marik-chan? What are you doing here?"

"Who did that to you?" There wasn't evidence that Malik knew how to use shadow magic in his soul room, but that still left the question of why he had it scarred to his back.

Malik winced and looked around the room, his eyes widening. "How'd we get here?" Mahad had taken him to his soul room twice, once, when he had first learned about magic, and right after they had moved to Japan. He said it represented who he was, and explained that the wounds would probably always be fresh here. They were a huge part of what made him Malik. But how did Marik get in his soul room? Did he have shadow magic?

Scowling as Malik avoided the question yet again, Marik crossed his arms and looked down at him. "Answer the question, Malik."

He flinched and looked away, towards the black wall. "It used to be covered in pictures, you know."

"Huh?" Though he wanted to know the answer, Malik's statement threw him off balance.

Malik sighed and slowly sat on the edge of the bed, ignoring the twinges of pain that it caused. "I used to have pictures on that wall. Of my mother, my sister, even-even my father." At the mention of that man, Malik's hands fisted and he glared at the wall. "I guess I tore them down, probably in anger." Marik sat down next to him, turning sideways to watch as Malik scrunched up his face to keep in the tears. "They were full of memories, happy ones, and I never knew-I never knew that my father-that he was-he would…" As Malik's talking dissolved, Marik's worry grew.

"Malik, did your father do that to you?"

He launched himself at Marik's chest, making him fall onto the bed, his head at the bottom and his feet by the pillow Malik had just recently been burying his own head. Malik's shoulders shook with the struggle to keep in tears, but Marik knew he had lost when he felt his shirt dampen.

Marik wrapped his arms around Malik, but tensed when he heard the resulting hiss. Malik sat up, brushing the tears from his face and moving away. "S-sorry. I-I didn't mean to fall apart on you like that."

Realizing that he had accidently brushed across Malik's scars, Marik bit his lip and sat up next to him. "I didn't mind." He reached over and placed a hand on Malik's leg. "You can trust me, you can cry."

Malik gave a small, tear-filled laugh. "You don't mean that. I bet you think I'm weak and you just want me to stop crying about something that happened in the past that doesn't even matter anymore."

"Not true." Marik looked into Malik's eyes, suppressing the urge to hug the hurt look out of them, knowing that it would probably hurt him. "I don't think you're weak." He smirked. "I think you're beautiful, I like that your soul room has you only in boxers."

Malik sighed in relief. This was the Marik he knew, the one that always appeared half crazy and was always making comments that had an undertone of teasing. It gave him a sense of comfort and he smiled.

Grabbing at one of Marik's hands, Malik pulled a little before lying down and pointing to the spot next to him. Marik scowled and ignored the obvious command to fall down next to him. "Malik, you still haven't answered my question."

He closed his eyes and shivered, before he opened them and stared at Marik with shimmering eyes that looked one second away from pouring out with tears. "I promise I'll tell you everything, Marik, just…not tonight, okay?"

Marik considered it before nodding his head and moving to lie down next to Malik. "You had better, Malik. I have plenty of questions that need answers." 'And not just about your past, but I also still have no clue how much you know about shadow magic…you didn't seem all that surprised to be here.'

Malik nodded and gave a weak smile before he curled up into Marik, tangling their legs together. Marik resisted the urge to wrap his arms around him, knowing that it would probably hurt the boy, and rested his head just inches from Malik's as he fell asleep.

Akefia broke out into laughter as a groan erupted from the floor next to him. "You always were bad at landing." The groan turned to a growl and Akefia quickly ducked as Bakura leaped up and swiped his fist at him. "And aiming."

"Damn it, Akefia!" Akefia cackled again as Bakura glared at the hallway around them. "Why the hell are we here?"
The man looked around, seeing the familiarity of the hallway that connected their soul rooms. "Maybe the shadows transported us here in the middle of the night, they've been known to do that before." He looked around, ignoring the grumbling beside him as Bakura rubbed his back. "Better question. Why is there a third door?"

Two of the doors Akefia knew belonged to him and Bakura, but he had no idea about the third door. The door was painted in royal blue, and contrasted greatly with his own, which was a dark purple, and Bakura's gray one. Akefia stiffened as the knob on the door turned and the door slowly opened.

Ryou timidly peeked his head out of the door, not sure where he was. He had woken up in an unfamiliar room, and though he had felt completely comfortable in the room and didn't want to leave, he knew he had to eventually.

Gasping, he flung the door open and smiled brightly at the two men standing in the hallway outside his room. "Hi! Bakura-san, I don't really remember this part of your house, where are we?"

Akefia blinked as light filled into the hallway, pushing the shadows back a few feet. "We aren't in his house anymore."

"Oh?" Ryou frowned in confusion and tilted his head to the side. "Then where are we?"

Bakura frowned, why were their soul rooms attached? Deciding to just come out with it, he glanced at Akefia for a moment before answering. "Our soul rooms, they're a representation of who we are. Technically we're in our own minds right now."

Ryou faltered before he laughed. "Oh, wow. You almost had me there, but no, really, where are we?"

"We're serious, Ry."

Ryou blushed at the nickname. "Ry?"

Akefia smirked and walked forward into Ryou's soul room, just barely brushing the boy but noticing the following shiver. "You didn't seem to mind it before." He watched as Ryou opened and closed his mouth, trying to come up with an answer, before turning and taking in the room.

It was painted in a light shade of blue, and if you didn't look hard enough appeared to be white. Pictures covered the walls, all shapes and sizes, and different styles, from sepia to color to black and white. In the center of the back wall, a queen-size bed covered in purple and brown sheets stood facing the door. All in all, it was a pretty simple room.

The man looked behind him at the squeak he heard Ryou make, and saw Bakura pulling away from a kiss and walking into the room behind him. Leaving behind a flustered Ryou, Bakura met Akefia's eyes and shrugged. "He was asking for it."

"I was not!" Ryou huffed, but didn't protest further as he watched the two men walk around the room, examining all the photos. He rolled his eyes, walked to the bed, and sat down on it, crossing his arms. "The pictures are mostly of my family, if you were wondering. Some of my friends. I don't know how I know that, but I do."

"You have a sister?" Bakura asked as he bent over to look at one that was just below eye level.

Ryou bit his lip and focused his eyes on a pillow on his bed. "H-had. She's-she's dead now."

Akefia looked over his shoulder sharply and saw Ryou struggling to hold back tears. He walked over to him and sat on the bed next to him, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulder.

Ryou stiffened at the contact, but relaxed and let his head rest on Akefia's shoulder, sighing in happiness and letting his eyes fall closed when he felt another arm wrap around his waist. Bakura sat still for a minute before falling backwards, pulling Ryou, and in turn, Akefia, to lay down on the bed with him.

Akefia launched himself across at Bakura with a yell, and Ryou quirked an eyebrow, but moving out of the way as he watched the two wrestle. Easily putting Bakura in a chokehold, Akefia winked at Ryou, making him giggle. Bakura rolled his eyes and jerked his body backwards, which made Akefia knock his head against the headboard and loosen his grip as he blinked dazedly. He slipped out of the headlock and reached over to grab Ryou's wrist.

The boy squealed as he was pulled over to the two and landed on a pillow, Bakura collapsing next to him. Akefia recovered and wrapped his arms around Ryou from behind, not unlike how they were positioned in the real world.

The three rested for a minute and Ryou was starting to doze off as Bakura spoke up. "Sorry about bringing up your sister."

"S'okay. Night, 'Kura. Night, 'Kefia." Ryou giggled lightly and curled up closer to Bakura as both men reacted to their new nicknames. Bakura stiffened and huffed in annoyance, and Akefia just sighed and shook his head.

"If you can 'ave nicknames, so can I…" Ryou smiled and yawned, before he fell asleep.

Bakura made a face, but didn't say anything, in case he might wake up Ryou. He looked over and saw Akefia with his eyes already closed and his nose against Ryou's neck. Sighing, and knowing that he probably wouldn't get any say in the nicknames, he joined Ryou and Akefia in sleep.

SW: This might've been a little bit of a filler.

Yugi: Not really, it'll be important next chapter!

SW: True that…

Please Review? (Fair Warning! I WILL NOT BE UPDATING THIS SUNDAY! I will be in Chicago and won't have time…sorry!)