The following day came and went for Yugi, boring as most of his days typically were, despite the near-constant companionship he now had. He almost preferred his previous loneliness, in a way, because when he was alone he could mope freely without fearing that anyone would bother him about it.

It was still nice to have company sometimes, though.

Ryou was, after all, an incredibly friendly person if one could get past the way he normally acted, and Malik… Well, Malik wasn't so bad either. Sure, he had his paranoid moments and he could be pretty scathing if he was in a bad mood but he could also be incredibly sweet when he wanted to be. Almost sweeter than Ryou, on some occasions, but only if he knew it could be helpful to act that way.

He was an opportunist, after all. If being sweet could get him (or all three of them) something that he or they wanted, he'd do it in a heartbeat. In the time it took him to go from his normal attitude to sweet, you could drop a pin from knee height and it wouldn't even touch the ground before he was done. Yugi thought it was amazing how quickly the other two could go from professional and irritated to casual and loving. How well they could act.

If he could learn how to do that, he could quite possibly be set for life.

He snorted at the thought, scratching the side of neck. He readjusted himself to get more comfortable, folding his arms behind his head. Three years before, he would have scoffed at the notion that one day he'd find it more entertaining to stare at his ceiling and think than hang out with anyone, but nowadays…

It was definitely true, he'd say that much.

But now that his mind was on the past, it was going to be difficult to pull it back to the present. And why should he pull it back, anyway? He had nothing better to be doing at the moment. Why shouldn't he just lull himself to sleep with fond memories of being held close and knowing he was loved by someone? It was almost a foreign feeling now - love.

He sighed.

"Daw' qalil?" Yami whispered into his hair.

"Yeah?" He wanted to open his eyes and look up into Yami's beautiful red irises, but he was far too comfortable to move.

His face was buried in Yami's chest, arms looped loosely around the older man's waist. He was warm, mind foggy from contentment, and his body was on the verge of falling right to sleep. He wanted to go to bed this way every night for the rest of his life… Next to Yami. His Yami…

"I was wondering… Do you really love me?"

"Of course." He nuzzled into his chest. "More than anything else in the world. Why?"

"I suppose I am just paranoid." He gave a soft sigh, pressing a kiss into the smaller's hair. "I love you too, you know."

"I never doubted it for a second." Yugi smiled. "I know I can trust you, but I understand your paranoia." He shifted his head slightly, kissing his shoulder. "I'll stay with you for as long as you're here for me to be with, I swear. You're the only one I want."

"You wouldn't leave me for anyone else?"

"Never. I don't think I could even be attracted to anyone else, Yami. Except… Well, maybe Atem, but we both know he doesn't feel that way about me and he probably never would."

He heard Yami stifle a chuckle. "The only person you would leave me for is my brother? Really?"

"Really." Yugi couldn't help chuckling. It was good that Yami wasn't offended by that. It was good that it didn't seem to bother him. "You two… You're all I've ever wanted. And I certainly prefer you, but I can't say for sure that, if Atem felt the same way about me that you do, I wouldn't want to be with him."

"I suppose that's good enough for me." Yami didn't bother stifling this chuckle. "I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me that."

"Why would I feel the need to hide it from you? That would just make you suspicious, wouldn't it?"

"Good point. There really isn't anyone else, though?"

"No one comes to mind." He went back to burying his face in the other's chest. "I'll let you know if someone does, though."

"Alright." There was a definite smile in Yami's voice. "I love you, daw' qalil."

"I love you too, habibi."

He heard Yami suck in a breath.

He'd been practicing that word for a long time, in order to surprise him. He'd murmured it until the pronunciation was perfect. Until it slid right off his tongue like any other word. It was the only word of Arabic besides the Sennen brothers' nickname for him that he understood, and he'd taught it to himself. He was proud of that. But did Yami like it…?

"Daw' qalil…" He murmured. "What you just said…" Yugi swallowed hard against the lump growing in his throat while Yami seemed to search for words. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear a word of my native tongue leaving your mouth."

After that, he murmured a single phrase, over and over again, into Yugi's hair. Yugi thought he might be thanking him. And he also thought that it felt like Yami was crying.

He sniffled at the memory, tears beginning to prick at his eyes. He pinched himself as hard as he could and yelped, blinking the remaining tears away. There. That was better.

No more tears. He reminded himself. You promised yourself that you wouldn't cry anymore.

So he laid there for a moment, calming himself and forcing down the familiar lump in his throat until he could swallow. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths until his breath no longer hitched in his throat. A sigh preceded his eyes reopening. He smiled, thinking about how proud Yami would be of his control over his emotions. Yami would be ecstatic that he'd finally learned not to cry about the past. That he'd grown as a person and could now look back on his childhood without sadness.

Everything after Yami had showed up was still a subject of a sort of fond sadness, but he was certainly working on that as well, much as he didn't want to.

"I do not mean to upset you further, daw' qalil, but you cry too much." Yami sighed, arms wrapped around him and legs crossed beneath him.

"I know." Yugi sniffled. "I'm sor-" He hiccuped. "I'm sorry."

"Do not apologize for something you likely have no control over." Yami chided gently. "It was not my intent to make you feel guilty for it."

"I feel guilty about it not matter what." He sat back slightly, unwinding his arms from around Yami to wipe away his tears. He sniffled again and looked at him with a rather watery frown. "I always run straight to you when I'm upset and I really shouldn't. It's not your job to comfort me."

"It could be." Yami murmured, gently cupping his cheek.

"What do you…?"

The feeling of Yami's lips against his was heaven. He'd been dreaming of it for years, but none of his dreams had ever come close to matching just how amazing it actually was in practice. He moaned softly, immediately flushing in embarrassment when he realized he'd made any noise at all. Yami smiled against his lips, pulling back and stroking his cheek with one of his thumbs.

"You were asking what I meant?" He chuckled.

"Um… Y-yes, I was." Yugi went even brighter red, this time because he hated how calm Yami could be while he was flustered.

"I mean, we could be together. Your response to the kiss indicates that you wouldn't be opposed…" Yami raised his eyebrows as if asking him a question.

"Yes." He felt himself tearing up again, so he wiped them away before they fell. "Yes."

Yami smiled and kissed him again. Yugi felt gross and wet, but Yami didn't seem to mind his runny nose much. In fact, he didn't even comment on it. It almost seemed like he wasn't even going to acknowledge it.

"I love you." He murmured, voice shaky and unsure. Was it too soon for that?

"I love you too." Yami smiled at him. "Now go get yourself cleaned up, alright?"

"Okay." He smiled an incredibly watery smile and unfolded himself from Yami's lap, stumbling over to the bathroom door.

He found himself smiling at that particular memory. God, he missed Yami. He missed him so much, and if they succeeded… Oh, he couldn't wait until they did.

It was no longer a matter of 'if' they succeeded in their plan. It was merely a matter of 'when' they would. When would they put the next stage of their plan in motion? When would Ryou finally claim the rest of the West? When would Seto finish signing over Kaiba Corp? When, oh when, could they finally, finally begin the important part of their plan?

The best part?

His favorite part…

Oh, just… When?

To bring himself away from the thoughts he knew would lead to something of a psychotic episode, he turned his mind to the past yet again.

He could still remember it like it was yesterday, despite his memory's habit of becoming incredibly foggy where important memories were concerned.

He'd been sitting, quietly, alone in the back of the classroom. His fingers had been fiddling with some puzzle or game that his grandfather had given him - it was hard telling which - under the table. He'd only been half listening to the teacher, more interested in the puzzle or game than anything the teacher might have had to say. What did he care about math, anyway?

But then the door had creaked open and in had walked Yami Sennen.

Yugi fell in love instantly.

That had been foolish of him - he was only ten. What did he know about love at that age? What did he know about this exotic stranger?

Nothing, that's what. He knew nothing and that was why he was so blissfully in love with him from the first second he saw him. He had no pre-formed misconceptions about love. He had no thoughts of, "What if he finds out?!" or "Would he even understand anything I said?". All he could think of was how much he'd like to hug and kiss that man.

"Please introduce yourself to the class." The teacher had said, voice gentle and sweet. She spoke slowly to make sure the boy understood.

He nodded hesitantly. "Hello." He said, rather unsurely. Then he straightened his back a bit and spoke a little more confidently. "I am Yami Sennen. It is a pleasure to meet you all."

It wasn't until later that Yugi found out the boy didn't even know what he was saying past 'hello'. All he knew was that his brother had told him to say it.

"Thank you, Yami. Please have a seat." She motioned toward the empty group of seats near Yugi. "Any of those is fine."

He nodded again and meandered over, considering each of the desks for a moment before taking a seat beside Yugi.

"Now, Yami is from Egypt and doesn't speak much Japanese." The teacher explained, causing a few 'oooh's and 'aaah's. "Would anyone like to volunteer to teach him."

"I will!" Yugi said immediately, sticking his hand in the air.

It was incredibly out of character. Usually he was quiet and the very idea of speaking in class mortified him, but he really didn't want to pass up this opportunity. Didn't want someone else to raise their hand and get to know Yami before he could. He may have been young but he knew that everyone else was more popular than he was and if Yami befriended someone else first he'd never, ever get a chance to talk to him.

"Thank you Yugi." The teacher smiled, and she seemed almost relieved in a way. "I know you're responsible enough to take this seriously."

"I will do my best, sensei."

She nodded to him, and when he looked around all he saw was Joey Wheeler staring at him and Yami. The boy seemed mildly impressed, gaze obviously on him rather than the Egyptian next to him for the most part, though he occasionally flicked his eyes to Yami. When he noticed Yugi could see him staring, his face flushed and he gave an apologetic smile, turning his head away. Less than a minute later, he glanced at them again.

His expression made his thoughts clear - he wanted to befriend one of them, and judging by the way his eyes lit up when he looked at Yami… It wasn't Yugi.

Normally, that would have made Yugi sad. But if he managed to befriend Yami first, and then someone else befriended him, he could quite possibly gain some friends through him.

And it turned out that that was exactly how it worked.

The moment he actually gained Yami's trust, Yami invited him over to meet his big brother. Atem was a sweetheart, really, but Yugi couldn't help feeling sorry for both of them when he realized that they lived in what was essentially a rundown shack on the edge of town.

Immediately, he invited them to stay the night at his house, and they agreed almost too happily. And then, over the course of about a week, he convinced them to move in with him. His grandfather had no argument for why they couldn't live with them, after all, and they were very quick to begin helping out around the Game Shop when they weren't at school. They carried their own weight and honestly Yugi couldn't have been happier even if neither of them returned the affections that he felt growing for them.

The sound of a window opening shook him from his thoughts. He sat up, staring across the room.

A silhouette blocked the light from the streetlamps below them, paused halfway into the room. They remained locked in silence for a long moment before the silhouette sighed and made his way the rest of the way into the room. He turned to close the window behind him and Yugi's heart fluttered in his chest.

Atem.

"I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow." Yugi informed him with a wry smirk. "What brings you here a day early, hm?"

"Turns out it's gonna take longer than expected." Atem shrugged as he approached. "Figured I'd stay the night with you. Talk to you a little. Learn some shit."

Hm. Yugi thought. Fair enough. He repeated the thought aloud when Atem seated himself on the edge of the bed. "But I don't see why you couldn't wait until tomorrow to do that."

"I missed you, okay? And it's… It's been a long time since we really spent the night together."

"True." Yugi shrugged and patted the space next to him. "C'mere."

He wasn't even ashamed when, after Atem got situated, the first thing he did was yank him close and kiss him. Hard. Nor was he ashamed of the loud, pleased noise he made when Atem kissed him back and tangled his fingers in his hair. His arms looped around Atem's shoulders, teeth scraping against the other's lips.

And the next thing he knew, he was on his back.