Thanks tremendously to everyone who's reviewed! Things are shifting a bit in this chapter ... Hope you enjoy!

7

Yami had seen glimpses of it for weeks now. If he was being honest with himself, ever since Battle City. It got worse after the KC Grand Prix, but for a short time after he got his own body, it seemed to get better.

He had never asked Aibou about it. He tried to cheer him up, but if Aibou didn't want to talk about what was bothering him, then Yami wasn't going to pry.

But it was different now. Wednesday night, Aibou had looked at him with such pain, such ache, it made his chest twist. But it was gone a second later when he tugged Yami into their game of tag, and he had thought it would disappear again, as it always did.

It didn't.

On Thursday, Aibou hardly talked at all at breakfast, and when he arrived home and finished his homework, he flopped down on the couch and just sat there, letting Yami pick what they watched, apparently not up for video games. Yami watched him with more and more worry as his behavior continued through the evening and Friday morning, until Jii-chan asked him, after Aibou had left for school, whether something was wrong.

And Yami didn't know.

Something was wrong, he was sure of it. He just didn't know what.

Or maybe he did. His hunch poked at the back of his mind, and he wondered if he should believe it.

Friday evening went the same. Aibou sat there, staring at the TV with blank eyes. Yami even tried flipping to some downright ridiculous channels to try to get a response out of him, but Aibou barely blinked until Yami—accidentally—flipped onto a channel in the middle of a horror movie, right as a woman screamed at the top of her lungs.

At nine, hours earlier than they would have normally gone to sleep before a weekend, Yami suggested they head up to bed. Aibou didn't protest. Yami doubted he even realized what time it was.

They brushed their teeth together, as always, then changed into their pajamas without a word. But just as Aibou reached to flick off the light, Yami crossed his arms.

"You're upset."

Aibou froze, his finger just above the light switch, before he turned around, blinking wide eyes that Yami almost believed were actually confused.

"Huh? No! I'm fine."

"It wasn't a question, aibou."

Aibou looked away. His brow tilted in something that Yami normally would have called sadness, but which now looked closer to guilt.

"I'm okay," he murmured. "Really. I think it's just been a long day. We've had a lot going on!"

Yami sighed.

"That's not what's wrong."

Aibou bit his lip and stared at the floor. Gods, it hurt to see him like that. Yami resisted the growing urge to tug at his own hair—if only out of the habit of not wanting to damage Aibou's body—and forced out a slow breath.

"I … I can't feel your heart anymore, aibou. But I know you. Better than I know anyone. Something's wrong," he said, barely hiding the hint of pain in his voice. Aibou's shoulders tensed, but he did not look up. Yami blinked. Then his eyebrows rose, his eyes narrowing, the memory of shadow magic, the promise of vengeance, pulsing through his veins. "Did someone hurt you?"

Aibou jerked back, holding up both his hands and shaking his head so fast his bangs flopped across his face.

"No! No, it's nothing like that!"

He wasn't lying. Yami would have known if he was. His muscles relaxed, and he tilted his head. "Then what is it?"

"It's nothing—"

"Aibou, please."

Normally Yami wouldn't resort to begging. He was far too proud for something like that. But if begging would have given him a chance of retrieving Aibou's soul from the Orichalcos, he would have done it without a second's thought. And he would do the same now.

For his aibou, a "please" was all he needed.

The boy's posture slumped, and he turned toward the wall. He didn't speak. Yami waited. Aibou put a hand to his forehead and rubbed it down over his face, his teeth clamping down on his lip so hard it hurt to watch.

It felt like an hour later that he let out one long, trembling breath.

"It's not fair …"

Yami stiffened, ears perked. "Aibou?"

Aibou made a sound somewhere between a groan and a whimper, slipping out through gritted teeth, and shook his head.

"It's not fair!"

Yami stared, silent, eyes wide. Aibou turned further away from him, his head hung low, despair etched into every wrinkle in his smooth skin.

"I … I want to be brave," he murmured, as much to himself as to Yami. "So I can help you find your memories and move on, where you're supposed to be. But I can't take it! Even if I can live without you, I don't want to! I don't wanna lose Jounouchi-kun or Anzu or Honda-kun or Jii-chan … any of my friends … and you're my partner! My other self! You're a part of me! Jounouchi-kun's my best friend, but you … you're so much … I don't even have a word for it. So much more than I ever thought I'd find. You're always there, you understand me, you see me, the good and the bad and everything and you never …"

He choked, and for the first time Yami noticed the tears that streamed down his cheeks, dripping off the edge of his chin. He lifted his head, but kept his eyes on the wall.

Yami wanted more than anything else to run forward and hug him, hold him, fight away his pain even though there was nothing here he could defeat. Then Aibou opened his mouth once again.

"It's not fair. I meet the one person who makes me whole and I have to send you away … and I hate myself … I'm so selfish … this is what you want, to move on, to be with your family, your friends, I know you must have had so many people who loved you and miss you and I …"

He sniffed and ran a hand over his face, then turned at last. The skin around his eyes was still puffy beneath the dried tears, but he forced a tight, reassuring smile onto his lips.

"I'm sorry, mou hitori no boku … this is … don't listen to me. I really am being selfish. We're going to get your memories back and I'll help you get where you belong. I promise. No matter what."

His voice cracked with suppressed sobs, but he kept smiling, even as Yami stared.

How many times had Aibou put on a brave smile for him? How many times had he put aside what he wanted for Yami's sake? Yami had promised him he wanted to stay with him forever, no matter what, and then when he changed his mind, and Aibou found out before Yami could even bring it up … he never complained. He never cried or begged him to stay, even though Yami could feel the pain trickling over the link.

Fighting against Malik, Aibou strung up as a sacrifice, so willing to let himself suffer if it meant bringing Yami closer to finding his lost memories. Pushing him out of the Orichalcos seal, smiling at him, so caring, so forgiving, I believe in you, mou hitori no boku.

He claimed that Yami had given him friends. But Aibou would have found those on his own. Yami had no doubt.

Aibou had had his loved ones kidnapped, his friends threatened, his very life put on the line countless times … for Yami.

And here he was again. Ready to give up what he wanted, to make his other self happy.

Yami closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and stared at the floor of Aibou's bedroom.

"I want to know who I am," he murmured, not even daring to meet Aibou's eyes, though he could feel the pained smile, the suppressed ache. "I'm … tired, in a way. I don't have any memories, but I can remember, in the Puzzle, so much time passed. I never felt old, but I'm … stretched. And part of me … just wants to rest. After everything. To rest forever."

He knew what he would see if he looked at Aibou now. He would see acceptance, as much as that acceptance hurt to give. He would see determination, the same Aibou had held since Battle City, determination to help him no matter what that meant in the end. Even if it meant they would be separated for the rest of Aibou's life. Aibou would do whatever it took for him to be happy.

Just as Aibou drew in a breath to speak, Yami went on.

"But then I think about that would mean. Losing you, aibou. And it … it hurts more than anything. It hurts too much to think about, so I don't. I don't like to be weak, so I just ignore those thoughts. But it feels wrong. The idea of us … being apart. I feel like you should always be by my side."

At last, he gave in to the treacherous urge and looked up. Aibou stared, his violet eyes wide, still glistening with unshed tears. His lips parted and his brow creased. Yami felt a tiny smile quirking at his lips.

"I told you I wanted to be with you forever," he said. "I meant it. To be with you for the rest of your life, to duel with you, to have you as my partner and be yours in return, see you grow, change, have your own family, be even more amazing than you've always been … I want to be there, aibou. At your side."

His own eyes burned now, and for a second he thought it was just sympathy for Aibou before he felt them grow wet. He blinked hard, forcing the tears away. No. Aibou was strong for him, he would be strong for Aibou.

But what good would that do now?

His breath trembled as he drew it in.

"And … with everyone else, too. Our friends. Jounouchi-kun, Honda-kun, Anzu, Bakura, Kaiba, Otogi, Mokuba, Mai … I've never gotten to live. I … I never got to be … normal. I don't know if I ever got that. If I got my memories back … I was a pharaoh. We read about pharaohs, they didn't spend their time having fun, they had duties and everyone worshipped them. Would I even have friends? Real friends who didn't view me as a god?"

He shook his head, his throat dry and tight.

"And I was … I don't even know how old I was. If I never had the chance for friends, for a real life, if I died too young … Maybe I never got that! Maybe I'll learn who I used to be and I won't want that life! Maybe … I have the best chance at life right here, right now, with you, with everyone, and I'd be giving it up for a life that ended three thousand years ago. I don't even know, aibou!"

He didn't realize he had raised his fist until he slammed it into the wall. His knuckles ached, and he heard Aibou stepping toward him, glimpsed the concern on his face out of the corner of his eye. He bit his lip and held his hand close to his chest. It wouldn't hurt for long. The wall he had punched in that train had been harder, and he had hit it with far more force.

For a good five minutes after that, all he had thought about was how he had hurt Aibou's hand and Aibou would have to suffer once he got his body back. Now, Yami kept reminding himself that this was his body. If he hurt it, he was the only one who would feel pain.

Maybe he should have punched harder.

Yami sighed, staring at the undamaged wall in front of him. It had done no good. Nothing would do any good. The future was still laid out in front of them, the same destiny he had walked along since he first emerged from the Puzzle. Was that his curse? To do only what destiny told him to do, because destiny ordered it? Would he never have the right to make his own choices? His aching hand twitched, and for a second he thought he might punch the wall again.

Then a small, hesitant voice broke the silence.

"What would happen if … if you stayed?"

It was barely more than a whisper, and he wasn't even sure if Aibou had meant for him to hear in the first place. But still he turned, eyes wide, brow furrowed, and found Aibou staring at the floor, his face unreadable, his arms hanging limp at his sides.

"What?" Yami asked.

Aibou bit his lip.

"Ishizu-san still doesn't know what caused this." He swallowed and peeked up at him through his bangs. "She might … she might not find out at all. And … it's … I mean, I miss how things were sometimes, but now you can live. You have a body. You can eat and sleep and go places without me. You could … you could have a life. A normal life, or as normal as things ever get. With … with us … if you wanted." T

Yami stared, his brain slowly catching up to Aibou's words. But by the time he managed to form the beginning of a thought, Aibou was already shrugging, avoiding his gaze once more.

"I mean … your memories would always be there, if you ever changed your mind. And I wouldn't stop you. It's just an idea, I mean, if you want to go like we planned, you can, I promised I'd support you and I always will because no matter what happens you're—"

"Aibou."

Aibou froze at the sudden interruption, quiet and gentle as it might have been. He looked down like a small, shamed child, rubbing one foot with the toe of the other.

"… sorry."

Yami didn't want him to apologize. It hurt to hear him apologize when he hadn't done anything wrong, when he had never done anything wrong. He bit the inside of his lip and breathed, reminding himself to inhale and exhale, because he was alive now. A separate being. A separate being that should have died three thousand years ago. A separate being who didn't belong here, in this time, with this boy, as right as everything felt. And gods, did it feel so right.

"It … wouldn't be my place," he forced out, every word like pulling a tooth. "To intrude on your life."

Aibou's head snapped up so fast Yami worried he had given himself whiplash.

"You've never intruded on my life, mou hitori no boku." He paused, pressing his lips together and looking at his feet once more. "But it's your choice."

Yami felt every slow, hard pound of the heart within his chest. The real, solid heart that pumped blood through his veins, the heart that kept him alive, the heart that shouldn't have been there, the heart that was there all the same.

Just like the heart he could feel pulsing against Aibou's skin when he slept at his side.

"Like I said. I want to be with you forever, aibou," Yami murmured, in the same soft tone he had used that night, as the boy stood in front of him with longing eyes and tears streaming down his face. "As long as you'll have me."

Aibou swallowed, and Yami watched those same tears slip out again. But this time, his wide violet eyes gleamed with something like hope.

"Forever …" He took a deep breath and stood up straighter. "So … you …?"

At last, Yami let himself smile. Not restrained or dignified, like the solemn king ruling over his people. He smiled like a sixteen-year-old boy would smile at his dearest friend in all the world, who loved Yami just as much as Yami loved him.

"Yes."

Aibou laughed, a breathy, wondrous laugh that forced it way out his throat before he even knew it was there. He shook his head and laughed again, giggles pouring from his lips like water from a faucet.

"Wow … wow!" He beamed so wide the smile must have hurt his face. He dug his hands into his hair and paced back and forth. "This is … we have so much to do! I mean, we have to tell Ishizu-san, I hope she won't be disappointed. Then we need to get you identification, since, well, legally, you don't even exist yet! Maybe we could say you're my long-lost twin or a distant cousin. People would believe us, the only people I've met with this hair are Jii-chan and Otou-san. And we have to get you clothes and your own place to sleep, unless you want to stay here, and—"

Before he could finish, Aibou's mouth stretched open in a yawn to rival any yawn Yami had ever seen, and Yami broke out into a fit of snickers even he failed to control. Aibou tried to give him a look, but given that his mouth had yet to close it only twisted his face into an expression that made Yami laugh harder. Aibou rolled his eyes, but smiled still.

At last, he flicked off the lights and made his way across the floor to flop down on his bed, the mattress creaking beneath him. Even in the dark, Yami could see his smile. He walked to the edge of the bed and looked down at his aibou, and his aibou looked back up at him, his eyes sleepy and soft and blissful, as if nothing in the world could go wrong.

Without a word, he turned on his side, facing the wall and scooting forward, and Yami slid up next to him, wrapping his arms around him so his hands rested just above his heart. He settled his head on the pillow so his face pressed into Aibou's hair, and every time he breathed the air smelled of his aibou, warm and soft and familiar and home.

Home. This was his home.

He was going to stay with Aibou for the rest of their lives.

His tired mind grasped at all the possibilities, all the things he had never considered and now flooded into his brain at once. He would get to see Aibou graduate high school, and go to college. Would he go to college, too? Would he be able to? He had basically absorbed all of Aibou's school knowledge thus far, but should he start going to school now? If he went to college, what would he major in? Would he even want to consider anything other than professional dueling?

And that was just the beginning. He could see Aibou get married, maybe have kids of his own. He grinned at the thought of tiny versions of Aibou running around. He could be their uncle, teach them how to duel, how to play dozens of other games, watch them grow up. He would see Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun and Anzu as they got older, found their callings in life—he had little doubt he would see Anzu as a dancer in New York.

He would get older. He would have his own identity, his own life, his own choices. He could experience the mundane, the ordinary, the amazing, without new opponents threatening the peace of the world. He would grow old, retire, maybe start offering advice to young duelists just starting out when he got too old for tournaments.

Life would quiet down, until he spent his days watching the children and grandchildren of his dearest friends run around him, growing, changing, living. One day, this body of his, which seemed so young, so energetic, so new now, would wear down until all he could do was sit in a chair and watch the world go by.

But he wouldn't be alone. He would never be alone.

Because Aibou would be right there by his side, old and wrinkly and exactly the same.

Aibou hummed and shifted in his sleep, clutching Yami's hand closer to his chest, and at last, Yami forced his train of thought to end. He nuzzled into the mess of black hair in front of his face and closed his eyes, treasuring every scent, every sound, every precious sensation.

Everything he would get to enjoy for years and years to come.