Three weeks went by very quickly, and before Atemu knew what was coming, an alarm clock was going off in his head and he was rolling off of the couch none-too-gracefully with mental grumbling to boot. He didn't want to get up, he didn't want to wake Yugi up from a rare night of sleeping alone, and he didn't want to send his aibou off to school when the past three weeks consisted of little awkward silences.

Yugi didn't want to go to school, either, but there was nothing that either of them could do about it.

But as Atemu shuffled into Yugi's room, his aibou was awake, sitting on his bed fully dressed with his knees drawn up to his chest. "Aibou? You're awake already?" He sat down on the bed next to Yugi and the smaller immediately climbed up into his lap.

"Yami, can't I stay home? Can't you teach me?" His eyes were so big and pleading…it hurt Atemu to have to say no.

"Don't you want to make friends, Yugi? Don't you want to…" Crimson eyes softened dramatically, "Go out and play in the sun?"

"But what if I'm all by myself?" Yugi started to play with the drawstrings on Atemu's pajama pants with a nervous air, "I'm scared."

Atemu hugged Yugi tightly, You won't be by yourself, okay? You can bring Alphonse with you, too.

There was a slight pause, in which Yugi seemed to be thinking about something, Okay…but, you'll be here when I come home, right?

"Of course, aibou," Atemu said with a slightly hurt pang in his tone, pulling away and looking Yugi in the eye. His aibou had come so far in the past couple of years, but his scarring went far deeper than his skin, "I promise. I'll always be here, okay Yugi?"

"I know, but…" Atemu hugged him again and kissed his forehead; there was a very large chance that this was all a big mistake, that Yugi going to school would ruin the fragile life that they managed to build up, but Yugi had to get out and see the world. He had to get out and experience it, because Atemu couldn't let him be confined to the dark like him.

"You'll be fine, aibou, okay? And I'll be here when you get home. If you need me, then just call." He tapped Yugi's head playfully and the air turned comfortable when Yugi smiled a little and relaxed, then started to hum contentedly in Atemu's arms a minute later.

They sat there until Yugi got hungry, and after a quick bowl of Cheerios, the smaller began to show signs of nervousness again; his eyes were jumpy and his mind was erratic, but he smiled anyway when Atemu helped him put on his backpack and held his hand to lead him downstairs.

When the vampire heard sounds of a bus coming down the road, he knelt down and gave Yugi a tight hug and an encouraging kiss on the forehead, right over his scar. Even if it was hidden by his hair, Atemu would always know where it was, "I'll watch you get on the bus, okay?"

"'Kay, Yami," Yugi said, returning the hug and lightly fisting his hands in Atemu's cotton shirt, "I love you."

"I love you, too, aibou…be brave, okay?" Atemu didn't need to remind him, though. Yugi was always brave, and even if there was a problem at school, he had a feeling that Yugi would stick it out anyway.

Yugi was always brave.

And as Yugi walked towards the bus in his blue and white school uniform, his backpack eating up a large portion of his small frame, Atemu realized something: he wanted school to be over.

The day passed quickly for Atemu; when Yugi wasn't around things went at an unnatural pace, always. He checked on Yugi's mind a couple of times, just to make sure that he was alright, but they never spoke. If Yugi felt that he could do this alone, then Atemu would let him.

When afternoon came, the vampire stood in the shadows near the overhang and waited until the school bus trudged along the pavement. Yugi hopped off of the stairs of the automobile, and Atemu was pleased to see a smile plastered onto his face.

"Aibou," Atemu said brightly, bending down to gladly accept Yugi's hug, "How was your first day at school?"

"Yami, it was so much fun!" Atemu grabbed the smaller's hand and they walked back inside, Yugi rambling on about various things that had happened during the day. Atemu was so relieved to see Yugi looking so happy, yet he couldn't help but notice that something wasn't right. He tried to ignore it, he really did, but as Yugi handed Atemu a folder of papers and they sat down on the couch, Atemu felt that had to ask.

"Did you meet any friends, Yugi?" Atemu asked slowly, watching carefully as Yugi silently began to play with his banana slices. He didn't answer.

Atemu decided to drop it; things worked best with Yugi if Atemu didn't prod. So instead he began to sift through the sheaf of papers from Yugi's school: medical documents, information, registration forms. There flyer about Parent-Teacher conferences…he could never do that…Open House, maybe, but--

"Yami, what's a 'smart-ass?'"

Atemu's eyes snapped over to Yugi; wasn't he in Kindergarten? Weren't all of these kids five years old? And what could Yugi have ever done to be called a smart-ass? "Who called you a smart-ass?"

"One of the kids at school." Yugi said, still picking at the banana, "They were making fun of me."

Atemu sighed. While he didn't think that it would be this bad, he had a feeling that something like this would happen to Yugi. He was just too…submissive…small. The vampire gently plucked the plastic bowl out of Yugi's hands, then moved closer to him and put an arm around the smaller's shoulders, "Why were they making fun of you?"

"…because I can read."

Atemu resisted the urge to scoff, then beat down his mind and said slowly and tenderly, "Yugi, they're only making fun of you because they can't read. Don't let what they say get to you." But Yugi didn't make any notion to even show that he was listening; his mind was clouded again, and Atemu realized that Yugi was hiding something from him, "Why didn't you ask me while you were at school?"

Because…I didn't want you to feel bad. Yugi offered softly, snuggling into Atemu, and Atemu realized that Yugi picked up on something that Atemu hadn't even thought about. Even if Yugi had sent for Atemu's mind, he couldn't have gone out and done anything about it. He was useless while the sun was out. Yugi realized it…yet Atemu didn't.

They sat in that heavy silence for a good couple of minutes, in which Yugi started to play with and eat his banana once more. "Yami," He said slowly, swallowing a bit of the fruit, "Can I still go back to school tomorrow?"

The ex-Pharaoh couldn't help but stare, "What? You still want to go back?" This was actually something of a relief; he wasn't sure how he would try to get Yugi to go back to the damned place if he didn't want to.

Yugi nodded, "The teacher's really nice to me. She gave me another book, too. So can I?" He looked at Atemu, biting the bottom of his lip worriedly. School must've really been a good thing for Yugi, after all. He was conquering his fears.

Atemu smiled softly at what most assumed to be his son and hugged him tightly, "I'm so proud of you, Yugi. I love you, aibou."

A couple of days went by. After a call to the school, the smart-ass comments had apparently stopped, and Yugi's teacher was just so happy to have such a kind and sweet boy as her student. Atemu could only agree, especially after Yugi came home from school with a big smile on his face from the various activities that he learned how to do that day. They both knew that Yugi hadn't as of yet made any friends, but it didn't seem to be bothering Yugi, so Atemu did his best to not let it bother him, either.

Atemu watched Yugi sleeping soundly in his bed on a Saturday night. His tiny fist was curled around one of Alphonse's ears, and his other one was open, his palm pointing towards the ceiling. The vampire sighed in relief. Yugi didn't wake up while he was gone, but he'd still have to wait until his aibou woke up to give him his present.

It was kind of odd, actually, that Atemu went out that night. It was almost on a whim, but he just wanted to do something nice for the smaller. Yugi was just so responsible and sweet; he needed a boost every once in a while…he needed a friend.

Around 8:30 the next morning, though, Atemu became impatient and sat on the smaller's bed, then shook Yugi a little as he slept. "'Ami?" Yugi asked, opening his amethyst eyes blearily for a minute before closing them again, "Yami, I'm still tired…"

"I know, I know, aibou," Yami cooed softly, "But I want to show you something." Yugi opened his eyes again and looked at Atemu briefly before Atemu picked him up and brought him into the living room. "Close your eyes, Yugi. It's a surprise."

Yugi happily listened to Atemu and snuggled against the cold vampire as he closed his eyes. Atemu smiled down at the little bundle, who would probably fall asleep again if he kept him like that for too long. He sat down on the couch, where a wire box-like object sat in front of them on the coffee table, "Okay, aibou, you can open your eyes now."

Yugi's lids opened, and he caught sight of the cage, along with a furry tanned rodent inside, scrambling along happily. "A hamster!" He looked up at the vampire excitedly, his eyes not looking so tired anymore, "Yami, can we keep it?"

Atemu nodded and opened the cage with one hand. He gently took the hamster out and placed it in Yugi's outstretched hands, "Of course, I bought it for you, aibou, for being so brave and going to school. What are you going to name him?"

Atemu watched his aibou as he stroked the hamster's soft fur with a finger and smiled; the vampire was so happy that he could make Yugi feel this way, because he'd never forget how broken his aibou looked when he found him in the park.

Never.

Yugi: Age 8

"Yugi…come here, aibou, I need to talk to you." Atemu said slowly and painfully, bringing Yugi into his lap barely after the amethyst-eyed boy shrugged off his backpack. He had grown a little in five-years, but he was still small. Yugi only stared at him, a look of confusion and apprehension on his face.

"What's wrong, Yami? What happened?" His tone was almost urgent, and Atemu could feel the buzzing inside of his mind.

He took another one of those unneeded breaths, "…Aibou, you're hamster died today."

Yugi's jaw dropped a little, and tears immediately started to form in his eyes. Atemu could feel his subtle shaking; Yugi loved that hamster. He took care of it very well, fed it, and held it; he'd sit there for hours with the small rodent in his lap. He remembered once when the hamster bit Alphonse on the ear and wouldn't let go, but it didn't help to bring a smile to his face.

He'd even read to it sometimes, and it hurt Atemu more than words could explain to have to be the one to break this news to him. "…why?"

"Your hamster was very old, aibou. Hamsters don't live very long, and yours lived to be a very old hamster because you took such good care of it."

Yugi didn't seem to be listening, though, and Atemu enveloped Yugi in his arms and let the smaller cry softly into his shirt. Atemu sniffed as he realized that this was going to happen to Yugi too, one day, too.

One day Yugi was going to die; he could die tomorrow for all Atemu knew, or he could die an old man, his life lived.

Either way, wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Atemu had to go through life all alone; it wasn't fair that he finally found someone that loved him, and it wasn't fair that he finally loved someone after all this time.

Everyone other than him was normal.

Atemu didn't want to watch Yugi get hurt, and he didn't want to listen to him crying softly into his chest. If the time came for Yugi to die peacefully, lying in bed and struggling to get the breath out, would Atemu be able to deal with that?

If Yugi died, then Atemu wouldn't even feel anymore. He wouldn't live, and would just exist. He couldn't go back to that, not after all of this. Not again.

"Yami, where do hamsters go after they die?" Yugi asked with a strained tone, looking up with a tear still clinging to his cheek; Atemu could smell the salt.

He wiped the water away with his pale-tanned thumb and ran his fingers through Yugi's messy hair, "…I don't know, Yugi, but I bet that its somewhere nice, with a big wheel that he can run on…and he'll never get tired." Atemu knew that what he was saying wasn't true; he truly felt in his heart that when a soul died…it just died. It didn't go anywhere.

When Yugi died one day, he wouldn't go anywhere. He'd just disappear.

Yet Atemu didn't know, and he'd never get a chance to, either. Atemu couldn't die…he wouldn't die. He was afraid to. He was afraid to go out in the sun, which was his only mortality, but as long as he could run away from it, then he would.

The vampire brought Yugi into his arms again and hugged him tightly, as if he wouldn't let anything, not even the pull of black-death, take his Yugi away from him. He felt Yugi's lively pulse, and his warm skin...his salty tears...

Because he was weak, just like everyone else, and his weakness, in a cruel ironic way, was actually his greatest strength. The never-ending will to stay alive.

To Be Continued

Author's Notes: This chapter was revised on 7-12-06.

Thanks to all reviewers!

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