TWELVE

Atem came home and thankfully Yugi was alone. Atem greeted Yugi and the littler Muto smiled softly in return. "As surprising as this may sound, um, Kaiba wants us to come over for dinner tonight," Atem soon said and Yugi blinked in surprised.

"Us as in…me included?"

"He knows you two aren't the best of friends, but he said he wants to possibly try and change that, so yes, he wants you there too."

Yugi looked surprised, but Atem also saw a bit of something else that he couldn't exactly put a finger on. He was a bit nervous and soon asked, "Do you…want to come?"

At that point, Yugi nodded with a big smile, a genuine one, "Yeah, I'd love to! It just…it surprises me, y'know?"

Atem nodded, "It surprised me too, but he wants this, and I'm actually happy that he does. So get changed, okay? José is out waiting for us. If you have any—wait, it's Friday, isn't it?"

He couldn't remember the days, honestly, but Yugi nodded, "It's Friday, I'll do my homework tomorrow, okay?"

Deciding it was fair; he nodded and watched Yugi leave for his bedroom to change out of his school uniform. Atem knew it was wishful thinking, but maybe Kaiba will eventually fall into his group of friends. Of course that's like stated before: wishful thinking. For now, Atem was more than happy Kaiba was finally trying to incorporate Yugi and Mokuba in more things with them. Atem was in the know of Mokuba and they were somewhat friends, but he wanted to be closer to him. He hoped Kaiba wanted the same with Yugi.

Kaiba made it home in record time. He knew Atem and Yugi would be coming soon and he already had his chef making dinner for four. Honestly, this thing made Kaiba nervous. He wanted to make his relationship with Atem work and last. He knew by that he'd have to suck it up and start trying to fix his relationship with the littler Muto, Yugi. He never minded Yugi, he just tended to find him a bit of a brat, but Kaiba is also almost nineteen, so it'd figure he'd be in that kind of mind state. Plus, all this time, he thought Yugi was his arch rival, but it was Atem who honestly was. Not saying Yugi wasn't a good duelist, because he was. Kaiba enjoyed the duel they had – Atem and Yugi. Despite his constant thinking that Atem threw the duel and how Atem's somewhat worded things to prove that theory, he had to admit that Yugi was definitely good as well. But he wasn't about to be handing out compliments.

Mokuba was soon in sight and Kaiba greeted him, "We're having dinner guests tonight, Mokuba. So wash up," he said as he put his jacket on the hanger and back in the closet.

Mokuba blinked, "Uh, who?"

"Atem and Yugi," he responded and saw Mokuba beaming, "Alright, about time!" He laughed lightly and raced to go get cleaned up for dinner.

Kaiba sighed, "Yeah, glad you're at ease, kid, because I sure as hell am not…" he muttered.

Instead of getting along with the parents, he'll need to get along with the little brother, and some reason it made him nervous.

About fifteen more minutes had passed and Sebastian was finishing up dinner when the doorbell rung. Kaiba knew instantly who it was. So he walked down the stairs, but Mokuba already was at the front door greeting the two Muto brothers happily. Kaiba's nerves continued to rise, but he forced himself to walk over and greet the two. He was nervous beyond anything and definitely out of a comfort zone, but he still managed to make a small smile appear.

"Glad you both could make it, Sebastian is almost done with dinner. Meantime, can I uh…get any of you anything to drink?"

"I'm alright for now, but thanks for inviting me, Kaiba," Yugi said brightly and Kaiba gave a nod, "Anytime, um, can I talk with you alone for a moment, Yugi?"

Yugi looked a bit taken back, but he nodded his head with a little smile, "Sure thing."

Kaiba left Atem and Mokuba, knowing Mokuba would keep Atem occupied. He led Yugi to the backroom for more privacy and cleared his throat, "As you know this is much out of my character," he explained and finally looked down to Yugi.

"But I am willing to give us a clean slate if you're willing. If I expect for Atem and I to work out then I need to get along with you as well. You and Mokuba already get along, so now I have to…swallow my pride and give us a fair chance, especially now. So, will you be willing, Yugi?"

Yugi blinked in surprise but smiled in a nod, "Of course, Kaiba. I know you've never liked me—"

"I honestly don't know what I thought of you anymore. My rival was you, but it wasn't you, well a mix of both, I guess but I'm not wracking my brain on technicalities. As far as I'm aware, that past never happened and the crap I was fed didn't happen either. As you can see, it's even too complicated for even me to pick apart, but I know one thing and that's that…"

He swallowed and began to fight himself in forcing it out. Why did Atem do this to him?

"I care a lot for your brother, and to some level of degree, I care about you too because of what you are to him. So this is me taking the first step in trying to make amends with you. We're not going to be best friends, but I can…live with being somewhat friends. It's better than the alternative."

Yugi can tell Kaiba was struggling with this, but at the same time he was happy Kaiba was developing like this. And to think, this all started when he started to date Atem. Yugi was happy for the both of them, he was grateful for all Kaiba's done for not only Atem but for him. The therapy was working wonders and her advice truly helped Yugi. Of course, he knew he wasn't out of the full woods yet, but this was a better start than what it was before.

"Don't worry, I get what you're saying, Kaiba," Yugi said with a smile.

"Whatever kind of friendship we get I'll be happy with, and I'm happy for both you and Atem. I think you're both good for each other, and I really do appreciate you taking this step."

Kaiba nodded, "Please don't make a big deal out of this I'm already out of my comfort zone as is…"

"I won't, I just wanted to let you know."

"Then…thanks, I guess?"

"Don't try so hard, Kaiba. The old you was fine, you don't have to change to make this work."

Kaiba arched a brow and Yugi finally left the room, leaving him dumbfounded. Just what the hell was it with these Muto guys?! Scoffing, he left the room and soon saw Mokuba showing Atem Capmon, which was something Mokuba was pretty good at. Capsule Monsters was a chess game, a chess game version of duel monsters, basically. All of the kids loved it along with the new edition of Dungeon Dice Monsters and of course Duel Monsters. He watched from afar and saw how content Atem was. They were playing a simple game, yet to Kaiba it seemed that Atem belonged. It was a weird feeling, but he couldn't help but to smile a bit at the sight. Soon enough, Yugi settled on the couch and began to check out the unused Capmons while Mokuba taught Atem how to play. Kaiba didn't even say a word, he just watched the three contently.

After dinner was done, Mokuba managed to get Yugi to his game room, where Kaiba knew they'd be up there for a long while. Kaiba put the dishes in the sink and found Atem right behind him with a soft smile.

"That wasn't so bad, I don't think."

Kaiba smirked a bit, "It could have gone worse," he said in agreement and sighed. "I'm…trying," he finally said.

Atem nodded, "I know you are, Yugi told me what you said to him. Kaiba, you don't have to change yourself. All you have to do is be a little less locked up. There are people you can trust, people who accept you for you."

"Tch, yeah, your mini me told me the same thing."

"Then why do you feel you have to impress someone?"

Kaiba remained quiet and soon shrugged as he walked off, knowing Atem would follow.

"I don't know, I guess this is different than what I'm used to. My stepfather, he always wanted me to be the best and my best was never good enough. I always had to impress him otherwise he'd threaten us with going back to the orphanage. When you spend most of your life molding into someone it's hard to break it."

He admitted, finding it odd how he easily was able to let Atem know that. He went out the back doors to the back porch and settled in the couch that was out there. Atem comfortably settled beside him and Kaiba leaned against the back and stared up at the slowly darkening sky. The abstract in colors were beautiful, orange, blue, yellow, pink and purple. As he stared up there, he felt something wrap around his hand and out of instinct, he coiled his fingers softly around it.

"You don't have to impress me…or Yugi. If you feel you have to impress someone then it's not worth the struggle in doing so. I suppose it's different when trying to run a company. You do as a CEO have to impress other companies, but outside of work, you can easily be that Seto again."

"Hm, you make it sound so easy, but it's not. The truth is…I'm not sure I know how to be that person again. This is who I am now, there's no changing that can be done."

"Maybe perhaps you haven't tried hard enough."

Seto looked over to Atem then with an arched, "And by that you mean..?"

Atem shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he looked up at the sky, "Take me for example," he started off.

"I was back in my day a Pharaoh of Egypt. I ruled Egypt and I more than likely was not who I am right now. I remember when Yugi put together the puzzle for the first time how dark I seemed to be. I remember how I didn't bat an eye to send someone to the shadow realm or even make them play penalty games. If I recall right, I sent you to one during our first meet. I tried to show you how to treat your cards with honor and respect by making you feel like you were one of those cards in the graveyard. My justifications were cruel illusions and I enjoyed playing those kinds of games. I also was at one point willing to let you die just to win a game. I would have stopped at nothing to win a game and I stopped at nothing to defend my vessel and his friends, even if it could cost lives. And now, I'm mortal, I don't have my powers anymore and even when I did I changed, because Yugi influenced me otherwise. Him and his friends became my friends, and because of their influences, Yugi's especially, it conquered that darkness inside of me. I was molded into one thing but I was changed by the influences around me. And by me being human, I have to relearn everything on becoming human. Again, I was used to one thing – a spirit – and now I'm changing. If I can change my ways, Kaiba, then so can you. I believe in that. You've broken that mold already. Maybe not by a lot, but you have. You finally let someone other than your brother inside and that's already a change."

Though Kaiba wanted to forget of the ancient crap, he saw what Atem meant and honestly, he needed that. He needed to know that he wasn't in this alone and no one understood what he meant. But Atem, he did, and if what he says is true then Kaiba is already slowly breaking that mold Gozaburo forced him to make, to become. The only person who can change that is Seto himself, but apparently he was slowly changing that already without taking much knowledge of it.

"Are you willing to wait until it's finally changed, though? It could take years for all I know."

"Why wouldn't I?"

Kaiba looked away from Atem then and shrugged, "I…don't know, just thinking out loud, I guess…"

Atem arched a brow, he wasn't buying this. "You're…worried that you're going to lose me, aren't you?"

Kaiba remained silent. He knew that alone would give Atem the answer, and it did, because he heard a sigh coming from his partner.

"Kaiba, I'm not that kind of a person. I'm with you until the end, or until you push me out."

"I don't think I have the ability to push you out," he confessed and finally looked back to Atem.

"What were you really worried about earlier? I'm here pouring my heart out, I think it's time you start being fully opened with me too."

Atem bit into his bottom lip. He knew Kaiba didn't buy into his response at the optometrist's office, really. His eyes dropped down and he ended up playing with Kaiba's fingers with his free hand from the one holding onto it.

"I suppose I worried about the same thing," he admitted.

"I find myself caring more about you and it often worries me that somewhere down the line you're going to find someone better and be done with me. I…personally think you can do better, but I can't seem to let you go."

Kaiba looked touched. He ended up sitting upright and removed his hand from Atem's to cup his chin and bring their eyes together in a connection.

"Trust me when I say that you're not losing me. There's no one better, it took you getting hit by a car and me thinking you were dying to realize that. I took my jacket off you and I wrapped it around you and I never once let you go. The more you nuzzled into me the more panicked I got—"

"So it was you that was carrying me?"

"Well yeah, who else you thought it was?"

"I don't know, I figured it was another employee?"

He laughed, "You think so little of me," he joked and shook his head as he released Atem's chin and situated himself back comfortably in his seat.

"No, it was me, and then at the hospital I jumped Yugi knowing he was the reason. I don't feel bad for doing it, because I think to some extent it made him realize a few things, but same time he made me realize that you're not going to be around for forever and that if I wanted something with you I had to do it before someone else took my chance. I thought that someone was Juliet at first."

He stopped his confession when Atem began to laugh. Kaiba scoffed, "Yeah, laugh it up, laugh it up!"

"Remind me to thank Yugi later then," he teased and Kaiba rolled his eyes.

It surprised him that he suddenly found Atem straddling his lap and wrapping his arms around his neck. Kaiba wrapped his arms around Atem's waist to keep him steady.

"I take it confession hour is over?"

"Is there anything else you'd want to discuss?"

Kaiba thought on that but soon shook his head. Atem took that liberty in pressing his lips to Kaiba's. Kaiba returned the kiss, but soon broke from the connection to quickly duck under Atem's jaw line. He took this time to softly nibble on Atem's neck, which made Atem shiver a bit. He lulled his head a bit more to the side to expose his neck more and Kaiba soon wrapped his mouth around the curve and began to suck on the flesh. Meanwhile, Atem combed through Kaiba's soft hair with a hand and basked in the small interaction. He gave off a soft moan and shivered a bit more when Kaiba's hands traveled up his shirt to softly claw down his back.

Finally, Kaiba pulled away and licked the saliva from Atem's neck with a proud smirk at the dark bruise he left. "Why the prideful grin?" Atem soon asked and Kaiba chuckled.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough. Meantime, what do you want to do since they're probably playing video games?"

Atem gave that a small ponder before he shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever you like to do, I suppose. I can't really think of anything to do."

Kaiba smirked, "I have a few ideas, but now's not the time for those. Not while Yugi and Mokuba are here. So how about we do something casual for us and play a game of Duel Monsters or something?"

Atem smiled softly, "And if I don't have my deck?"

"Then a video game duel will be our next call."

"A virtual duel it is then," he agreed and climbed off Kaiba.

Kaiba confidently took Atem's hand and led him back inside to the game room on the third floor where his bedroom was located, but he took the right and entered a different room. Inside was a clean room with only a black leather couch in center of a plasma screen TV and numerous game consoles below in a neat and organized state. Atem took a seat on the couch and looked around. It was pretty bare with only white for the walls and the blue carpeting that matched the rest of the home. Kaiba seemed to not be much for a decorator, which Atem didn't mind in the very least. They did have a nice view from the wall that was made with fiberglass to better absorb the sun's lighting into the room. However, with it setting for the evening, it was just a beautiful abstract of art.

Kaiba soon settled beside Atem and handed him the Play Station 2 controller and explained briefly on how to play. Of course, Atem knew how to play the game, but he just needed to know how to get from point A to B. Once he understood the basics on the controller, the two made their decks and chose a deck master. Kaiba's being Blue Eyes White Dragon and Atem's being Dark Magician. The basic of the game is to protect your deck master at all costs, but at the same time try to get the opponent's life points down to zero. It can be done through typical dueling or direct attacking, higher point monster cards or magic or trap cards. The only downside for direct attacking is the fact the opponent needs to move on the board and get as close to the opponent's deck master as possible in order to strike.

"Ready to lose, babe?" Kaiba smirked playfully to Atem and Atem just chuckled.

"If by losing you mean winning, then yes."

Meanwhile, Mokuba and Yugi hung out on the second floor, Mokuba's personal game room. He held numerous games like any kid would, but since Yugi wanted to further learn how to play Capmon, they were playing a virtual version of it on Mokuba's Game Cube.

"It's pretty simple if you're familiar with chess, kind of. Basically what we do is we pick five capsule monsters. The higher the number the more powerful it is, but see with this game it's kind of a random choice. So you don't know what you'll get, but even if it's a low level it can still be valuable, because some offer special abilities. You just have to know how to use them."

Yugi listened carefully to Mokuba's words and nodded his head. "Sounds like fun, how come I've never heard of Capmon? I've heard of Dungeon Dice and of course Duel Monsters, but Capmon – is it new?"

Mokuba shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I don't really know. I mean I've known of Capmon for a couple years now, but it's not as popular like Duke's version of Duel Monsters or Pegasus's. I guess it's more directed towards people of my age, but even still, most prefer the other two. I don't know why, I just love Capmon, I think it's because back in the orphanage with Seto we played chess a lot. He was always better at chess than me, but I don't know, maybe it's kind of close to me because of the memories it brings back."

Mokuba wore a smile the whole time. Yugi honestly couldn't imagine what it would have been like in an orphanage, but at least Mokuba had Seto with him through it all. Their bond, it was almost like Yugi and Atem's. Yugi's very first friend was Téa, but if it weren't for Atem then Yugi wouldn't have so many friends he has now, including Atem. Not to mention, Atem made Yugi more confident in himself than he's ever been.

Back before Yugi ever solved the millennium puzzle, he was bullied and definitely wasn't one for fighting. He still wasn't, but he wasn't a "sissy" as one would refer to him as. Yugi was always the little weirdo who would think so little of himself, but put a game in front of him – checkers, a puzzle, anything – and he could figure it out. He was definitely a gamer, thanks to his grandfather.

Yugi remembered the first time he ever discovered the box the millennium puzzle was inside. It was collecting dust on grandpa's shelf behind the register and Yugi was always drawn to it for some reason. It wasn't until he finally grabbed it that he began to try and put it together, but it never worked out as planned. He remembered getting so frustrated at the numerous pieces, all looking alike but couldn't fit. He spent countless nights trying to put it together only to fail. He still didn't know what made him able to solve it. All he remembered was that he was in a tight situation with an upper classman, a hall monitor named Ushio. To him, he swore Yugi was getting bullied by Tristan and Joey. Yugi had to admit, they were a bit harsh with him, but by Joey's words it was to "make him a man", which Yugi understood now, but back then he still considered them his friends. It was a twisted way to look at it, but Yugi always saw them as his friends.

When Ushio volunteered to be Yugi's bodyguard and to "take care of the problem", Yugi remembered how he worked on that puzzle to clear his mind until he was exhausted and fell asleep. He can always get so far with the puzzle and then couldn't figure out much afterwards. By morning, Yugi was brought to panic when he saw Ushio at school. He called for Yugi to come over and Yugi then saw his two friends, Tristan and Joey beaten to pulps against the school's building. Yugi remembered how scared he was and how upset he became. He felt even worse when Ushio brought the bomb down on Yugi's due payment for his "services", services that Yugi never once asked for. 200,000 yen was the payment, which was approximately 1,600 dollars in American money. It was an outrageous price, but Ushio made it clear that Yugi better hand it over come the following morning or else. The 'or else' was pretty understanding in its own, however, it was still money he didn't own. During this course, Yugi forced Ushio to beat him up rather Joey and Tristan when Ushio made it clear that he wasn't done with them. Despite what Joey said he was trying to do for Yugi, Joey at that point saw how much courage Yugi had. He had it when his friends were in danger; friends Joey never thought he'd ever be considered by Yugi with how he treated him.

Yugi remembered that night, he remembered how awful he felt and how only putting together the puzzle was the only remedy he had. Some reason, it was much clearer tonight. The pieces were more understanding to him, which was rather odd despite how awful he felt. He didn't have the money to pay Ushio, but he couldn't stop putting together the puzzle. Piece by piece he put it together and then finally was down to his final piece, the center. Ecstatic he was, he eagerly reached in the box to see his piece was missing. The feeling he felt, it was horrible. He was so close and yet still so far. His grandfather came in at that point and showed him the missing piece, but Solomon explained how it wasn't him that found it, but Joey and that Joey told Solomon what was going on. Not only did Yugi have the final piece he needed to his treasure, he often called it, but Solomon had handed him an envelope of money, the amount Yugi needed. It was almost as if his dark cloud faded and then nothing after that until the following morning.

He'd have blackouts often and it was always when he felt at his lowest, at his worst and being hopeless. He'd come to and have no memory of anything except everyone was safe. He went a year through this until it became clear to him that he had another presence inside him. At first, Yugi was scared of the spirit in the puzzle; it was when the spirit would have stopped at nothing to win the duel Kaiba was trying to make him surrender to. At that point, his bond with Atem began to grow and now they were here. Atem was here. In an odd sense, Atem was like Yugi's own Seto. Atem was there when Yugi felt at his lowest, it was Atem who gave Yugi the strength and confidence he needed and it was Atem who to this day is someone Yugi secretly looked up to. He was the closest thing to an older brother he's ever had and honestly, Yugi couldn't be more grateful to still have Atem in his life.

"Yugi, are you okay?" Mokuba's voice was heard and Yugi blinked, "Huh?"

He looked over to Mokuba's concerned expression, "You…sort of just zoned out."

"Oh! Ha, um, sorry Mokuba, I was…just thinking. That's all."

"About what?"

"Just…the past, I guess. I'm fine, though, really."

Mokuba frowned a bit more, "Are you sure?"

"Mhm, positive! Now, let's play."

The two played a few rounds. Mokuba won most of them, but once Yugi got the final hang of it he began to actually pose as a threat. The two hadn't realized how long they've played until the sun was down completely and the only light they had was the backlight of the television screen. After a final round, Mokuba turned the game off and went over to turn on the light. Yugi winced from the sudden brightness of the lights, but soon adjusted to them.

"So I have a question," Mokuba finally said as he settled back on his own side of the couch. Yugi looked over to Mokuba and smiled, "Sure, what?"

Mokuba at first seemed to be hesitant, but he finally spoke up, "How's the uh…therapy doing? Seto said you were doing therapy to try and well…y'know…"

Yugi remained quiet; it figured Kaiba would share that information with Mokuba. Not that Yugi minded, but he sometimes wished he could distract himself from that.

"I'm uh…doing okay, I guess. I mean it's a step process."

"I know, and I know how close you were to him. It's why I was asking, I mean I've been worried about you ever since I found out about it. I didn't think it was that bad until we ran over Atem with our car."

Yugi chuckled nervously, "Yeah, well…I'm not going to have a repeat of that, trust me. It has it's hard times and it's easy times, I mean it's going to be a bit before he stops appearing in my dreams or I see him or hear him sometimes. The therapist has been wonderful, though. She's often suggested for me to keep a journal and when I feel the need, I write to him through the journal. She's also said that my dreams of him, all my dreams are made from my subconscious and rather make the dream painful to try and change it to something that isn't."

"Does it help?"

"Somewhat, yeah, but being around my friends and Atem, it helps a bit more. It makes me feel less alone, y'know?"

The little Kaiba nodded in understanding and soon smiled brightly, "And you got me and Seto too! I may not understand what you're going through completely, but I'm still here to help out. You're family now and family sticks together!"

Yugi was taken aback by that and blinked at Mokuba in question.

Mokuba noticed and soon spoke up, "Our brothers are together, and Seto is already making small steps in accepting more people in. As far as I'm aware, you're part of the family and so is Atem. So family sticks together, my brother taught me that."

Touched by Mokuba's acceptance, Yugi smiled tenderly and nodded, "Thanks Mokuba that means a lot to me."

"No sweat! And besides, I always liked you and Atem as well as Joey, Tristan, Téa and Duke. All of you guys are so nice and even when you didn't know me all of you were willing to help me when I had Pegasus on my butt."

"And you had ours when we needed it," Yugi pointed out and Mokuba laughed.

"Not nearly as often as you guys have helped us, but what's friends and family for, right?"

"Ha, right!"

Being around Mokuba and talking with him, it definitely was helping Yugi more. It was better than feeling that he was being eyed by his friends and sometimes Atem. By that, he meant them always worrying of him and asking him how he's doing. Sometimes, Yugi felt that he had to keep a front up to everyone, but with Mokuba he didn't feel the pressure and it was a relief off of his shoulders. As he thought of this, he soon frowned as another memory came to him. It was the afternoon of when Yugi had jumped out of his window and went to Joey's. He then heard Kaiba from the hospital and soon found himself asking…

"Can I ask for your insight on something?"

Mokuba blinked, but nodded, "Sure, what about?"

Yugi bit into his bottom lip as he debated on how to word it. Once he figured he had a decent enough timeline for the words, he spoke up.

"That duel I did with Atem, he…swears he didn't let me win. Kaiba thinks he did. Do you think Atem let me win the duel, because he wanted to go home?"

He needed someone else's insight and for some reason he felt Mokuba would give him the best and most honest. Atem, if saying he did let Yugi win, he'd know how angry Yugi would be and Kaiba already had it in his head that Atem did just what Yugi feared. If he asked the guys then they probably will say "no" or "I don't know". So Mokuba was Yugi's only other option. Mokuba had to admit, it was an odd question to ask, but he honestly pondered that long and hard. He couldn't remember most of that duel, but he remembered enough to give an honest answer.

"Honestly, I don't think he did. I think Atem dueled to the best of his ability. I don't know he doesn't seem like the type to just throw a duel, no matter how much he wanted to lose, even if he did. I guess I see my brother in that sense. Like, Atem hates to lose at anything, just like my brother. Both are really passionate over the game too, so even if he wanted to go back home I think he'd still would have given it his all, but even I noticed he had a lot on his mind. I mean look at it through his eyes, he's been a shadow of you for so long and around all of us. He grew used to everyone, but when he finally gained his identity, his background and everything else, he felt like his own person and not the other you. But even with that, he knew he'd have to do one or the other. If he won then he'd be forced inside the puzzle still and live life in your shadows. He'd know who he was and would probably miss everything through his memories. On the other hand, if he lost then he'd be saying goodbye to the friends he's made here and be saying goodbye to you. He may think, even with Seto's reasoning for the outcome of the duel, believe he let you win, because how Seto worded it, it wasn't an exact lie, but still, I think he's wrong that Atem threw the duel for you. I mean if you ask me, it was a pretty evened out battle. If he just threw the duel he wouldn't have dueled as clever as he did like he normally would. So I think even Atem doesn't fully understand what his intentions were. Maybe in his heart he knew he didn't let you win, but his head is telling him he did. Plus, I think Atem would know you'd be angry if he threw the duel, and also, as weird as it sounds…you were kind of picked to have the puzzle. So obviously if all that ancient Egypt stuff was true then you're his reincarnation, how else would you two look a lot alike and be an amazing team?"

Yugi listened to every word Mokuba said and realized now how right he was. Atem, he would never throw a duel, especially to Yugi. Atem would push Yugi to do his best and his best was good enough, but even though Atem didn't go back home, he was still his own person here. He had his own body; he had everything to be an individual. If he would have won then he would have been stuck as a spirit in the puzzle. So in this outcome, it was a better one anyways, as weird as it sounded. He smiled to Mokuba and nodded his head.

"Your point makes a lot of sense," he agreed.

"It's just…Atem and I got into that argument before I left. He swore he didn't let me win, but I don't know, for some reason I felt he did."

"I don't think he would ever let you win. I think he just had a lot running through his mind and it made him seem distracted, but even you have to admit that the game was pretty close."

"Yeah, it was, and he still chose this life."

Mokuba smiled, "That's because he cares about you and knew you'd need him still. Not in the sense many think, but as your best friend and brother, he knew he belonged here."

"Well I do have to admit, I'd probably be worst off if he still wasn't here. Ever since I finished that puzzle he's always been there. Of course, I didn't know about him at first and I did fear him once, but he was always there when I needed someone. Just like with my friends."

"Which I'm glad for, and that I can relate to, because if I didn't have Seto then who knows where I'd be? Seto's always been my best friend and we've always been a team. I know you haven't really seen that side of Seto, but hopefully you will eventually. I mean, I see him changing and he's changing because of Atem. I don't think its Seto doing it purposefully; I just think Atem is bringing out that old Seto I used to know when we were little out."

"Hmm, yeah, I told him to not try too hard. The old Kaiba is good enough."

"Haha, yeah!"

It was reaching almost eight thirty when everyone returned to the lounge area. Atem and Yugi were about to head back home with José. Yugi thanked Kaiba for having them over and Kaiba shrugged.

"Maybe we can do this again soon?" He proposed and Yugi nodded, "Sounds good to me, I had a lot of fun!"

"Me too!" Mokuba chimed in, "Hopefully it won't be too longer before we do this again. You owe me a rematch in Capmon, Yugi."

"Haha, you're on!"

Surprisingly, Kaiba felt this went pretty well. He was happier knowing that the two littler siblings were accepting of the elders' relationship.

"Remember, this goes to both of you: don't let the cat out of the bag about Atem and me. We'll let more in when we're good and ready," Kaiba said and both of the siblings nodded.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Yugi promised and looked up to Atem and snickered a bit. "Although, I think they'll figure it out on their own."

Atem arched a brow, not understanding what Yugi meant by that. Kaiba only gave Atem a cheeky grin. What was he freaking missing? Even Mokuba was snickering and that confused Atem all the more.

"Anyways, we should head back, right Atem?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, we should."

He bid Mokuba a farewell and as did Yugi. Yugi was already heading out to the car with Atem about to follow, but Kaiba stopped him by grabbing his arm and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He didn't expect for Kaiba to kiss him in front of Mokuba, but the littler Kaiba didn't seem to mind it at all.

"Watch out for cars," Kaiba teased and Atem punched him in his arm with a smirk, "Watch out for curly blondes," he retorted and Kaiba laughed.

Atem soon joined Yugi in the car and they were taken home. Yugi wouldn't tell Atem what he meant by "they would already figure it out" and it frustrated him. What was it that Atem was missing?

José dropped them off at their apartment and both Muto's walked inside the dark apartment. After flipping on the switch, they took their shoes off and locked the door.

Atem smiled to Yugi, "So you had fun?"

Yugi nodded, "I did, and it was smoother than I thought it'd go with Kaiba and all. I enjoyed playing with Mokuba too."

"So, I'm guessing you're into Capmon now?"

"It's pretty fun; I wish I knew about it awhile ago, also, I have something to say to you."

Atem arched a brow, not really knowing what Yugi wanted to say to him. So he waited nervously,

"And…what's that?"

Yugi's smile faltered a bit and he looked down briefly before returning back to Atem's gaze, "I wanted to apologize. Y'know, what I said to you that night…I don't know what came over me. I know you didn't throw that duel for me, Atem. I knew you were playing your hardest and also had a lot going on in your mind. I mean, it's never like you to throw a duel," he said and Atem's eyes widened a bit.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry and I really am thankful that you're still here. You could have gone home, but you chose to stay here. I never made it known how appreciative I was of that and still am. The truth is, I don't know where I'd be if you weren't still here. I've always leaned towards you for support when I needed it, even without realizing it."

Yugi's smile returned to his lips and Atem smiled in response. He ruffled Yugi's hair, "Yugi, this is my home. I'm not the same person I was back centuries ago. You influenced me to become something different. I think it's a balanced trade for us. I don't know where I'd be if I ever lost you."

Yugi wasn't expecting that, but it definitely made him feel amazing inside to know it was a fair trade. "Well, I should get ready for bed, but wanna have a fun game of Duel Monsters?"

Atem smiled more, "Sounds perfect, we'll both get ready for bed and meet back out here."

Yugi quickly agreed and went to his bedroom to change. Meanwhile, Atem went to his and changed into more comfortable wear: black and white flannel pajama pants and a grey long sleeve. He decided to leave his boot off, figuring it'd be better to give it a breather, plus, he hated that thing. He thought the sling was bad, but the boot was just as bad.

It was a bit tender applying pressure to his leg with it being bound up for so long, but he walked to the bathroom to wash his face. It was then he noticed the bruise on the base of his neck on the left side. Blinking, he pulled the neck collar down to further investigate and remembered the earlier discussions with Kaiba.

He growled, "Dammit Seto Kaiba!" He could hear Yugi's laughter in the background at this point.