Transcending Time
Chapter Thirty-Four: In Exchange For A Hero's Farewell
They had been in the Outer Dimension for almost two days.
It hadn't felt quite that long, but then again, there had been no possible way to tell time while they were put through Atsu's jarring trials, and the constant apprehension flooding through Eshe's veins had worked to distract her from anything but the thoughts of Atem and her friends.
Being free from that terrible place was alleviating, to say the least.
The rush of relief that had brushed her mind when Eshe realised they had triumphed, and that her friends were all safe and unharmed, left her lightheaded. One by one, the group had quietly and sluggishly stumbled out of the abandoned, dusty warehouse and into the personal limo that Seto Kaiba had called.
Roland, Seto's business advisor, had had a minor freakout from what Eshe could hear over the phone about the highly unusual two-day disappearance of the CEO and his little brother; Kaiba had calmly explained that he was perfectly fine and that his excuse for not responding to Roland's calls was due to a mix of him being extremely busy and terrible phone signal.
The first thing Yugi had thought to do was call his grandfather to inform him that they were all perfectly fine and on their way back to the Game Shop.
"Oh, Yugi, I'm so glad you and your friends are safe! I was so worried, I had your friend's parents calling and asking where they all were!" Eshe heard the elderly man's voice echo over the phone, and Yugi smiled sheepishly.
"I'm sorry grandpa, but we're alright, I promise."
The rest of the frantic conversation faded out of focus as Eshe felt exhaustion overcome her, her body had begun to feel the results of the troublesome excursion to the alternate dimension and it took effort simply to hold her head up, so she didn't.
She laid back, resting against Atem's shoulder, and breathed a soft sigh, her lips curling upwards in a smile as she felt him pull her closer, dipping his head to graze a gentle kiss to the side of her forehead. Eshe had missed the warmth of his arms and the subtle, affectionate gestures that revealed just how much he cared for her.
Eshe wanted to raise her head and take in every tiny detail of Atem's handsome face - the natural arch of his eyebrows, the tiny flecks of magenta in his deep purple eyes, the very tenuous dimples in his cheeks - but she simply did not have the energy to lift her gaze up to him at that moment. Instead, she decided she would take a good look at his face later when she was feeling more energetic, and chose to rest her eyes.
And promptly fell asleep.
When Eshe's eyes slipped open again, it was to the sweet sound of Atem's deep voice; it was such a wonderful way to awaken and she had long since forgotten how delightful it felt.
"We're home", Atem spoke, his hand rubbing her shoulder tenderly; Eshe blinked tiredly, rubbing her bleary eyes. She shifted, waving her hand flimsily by way of saying goodbye to her friends, too sleepy to speak, and heard Atem murmur a drowsy 'thank you' to Seto for the lift as she followed Yugi out of the limo.
Atem exited behind her and immediately reached for her hand, interlocking his fingers securely with hers, and continued to lead her towards the Game shop, moving closely by her side.
As soon as they walked through the door, Yugi's grandpa kicked up quite a fuss, bombarding his grandson with question after question about what had happened to them all and why they were gone for so long without so much as a phone call.
Yugi stuttered aimlessly for a few moments, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully under the scrutiny of the elderly man, before giving him an apologetic smile, "Grandpa, I'll tell you everything, I swear, but can it please wait till the morning? We're kinda tired…"
Solomon Muto looked through his stern eyes at the boy for a few moments longer before relenting, "Alright. Go to bed, all of you. We'll talk tomorrow", he sighed, pulling Yugi into a hug, "I'm just happy you're okay."
Eshe smiled softly, and the three of them excused themselves, striving to climb the stairs so they could find their respective rooms and collapse into the comfort of their beds. Atem sat down on the edge of his bed, his head bowed in fatigue, and Eshe ran a hand through her hair, unknotting the tangles that had woven themselves together.
"I'm gonna change… into pyjamas", Eshe murmured, gathering up her sleepwear that remained strewn across the bed messily; Atem hummed in acknowledgement, swaying slightly as his eyes fell shut. A quiet huff of amusement left Eshe's mouth as she turned to head into the bathroom so she could change and brush her teeth - the whole encounter with Atsu had left a bad taste in her mouth, and the quicker she removed the unpleasant taste, the sooner she could cuddle up next to her beloved and finally sleep.
Unbuttoning her blouse, Eshe paused as she looked over herself in the mirror; her eyes were clouded with a yearning for rest and the skin below was darkened, chapped lips and dull hair revealed just how worn down she was, and yet, the sight of the necklace hanging around her neck left her feeling more content than she'd ever been.
It was still in the process of sinking in, everything felt surreal and dreamlike, and Eshe had to pinch herself to make sure it was all real; she hurried to change her clothes, leaving the Lavalliere on her person where it belonged, and left the bathroom, reentering Atem's room to find him also changed into his sleepwear, sprawled across the bed with his eyes closed.
Eshe snickered softly, taking a few short strides to the edge of the bed before crawling on, leaning down to kiss Atem's forehead; he stirred and blinked his eyes open, smiling delicately as he looked up at her.
He said nothing, simply shifting to pull the covers back so they could both become cosy below the warmth of the blankets; as soon as they were comfy, Atem snuggled up against Eshe's back, obliged to be the big spoon, his arms around her securely.
"I love you", he whispered against the back of her neck, tickling the skin in a way that left Eshe tingly and warm, and she smiled, mollified and happy.
"I love you too."
Atem fell asleep quickly, but it took Eshe a while longer. A few stray thoughts troubled her, like the reminder that Atsu wasn't actually dead; she squashed down the fear that he could return at any moment and finish what he started - the man was facing an eternity of agony in repayment for his sins at the bottom of a pool of lava, he wasn't going to return anytime soon.
After a while, her reeling thoughts settled, and she too fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of Atem's breathing and the knowledge that she was safe within his protective embrace.
"We should probably get up."
"Mm… no", Atem murmured sleepily into Eshe's shoulder, his voice garbled with drowsiness.
Eshe smiled, shifting to raise her hand up to run her fingers through Atem's hair, caressing his scalp and drawing a soft sigh from his lips. Atem's feet playfully nudged her own below the covers, his toes tickling against Eshe's ankles with nothing but the pure desire to touch her in as many ways as possible.
"Your feet are cold", Eshe murmured, brushing her lips against the side of his head, kittenish accusation in her voice.
"I know. Your feet are warm." Atem responded, and Eshe could hear the smile in his voice, prodding his feet with her own wriggling toes. She repositioned herself, leaning up on her elbow to look down at the boy snuggled up beside her, and his arms tightened around her, subtly pulling her back down against him.
"We really should get up."
"Your eyes are beautiful", Atem mumbled, his doting gaze scanning her face, ignoring her statement about leaving the comfort of the bed.
Eshe shook her head, unable to restrain the smile on her face, "My boring brown eyes?"
Atem's gaze hardened and he reached up, cupping her cheek with his gentle palm, "No, they're beautiful. Sunshine reflecting off copper coins."
Eshe felt her face heat up, "Shush", she mumbled, dropping her face to his chest, rubbing against the fabric of his Kuriboh pyjamas. Many times in the past, he had blessed her with such poetic language when describing her each and every little thing he loved about her appearance.
Of course, her eyes could never compare to the ethereal beauty of Atem's elegant purple irises.
"They are", Atem protested, sensing the skepticism in Eshe's bashful voice, "The most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."
Eshe smirked, quirking an eyebrow at his words, "Maybe you've never seen your own eyes then."
"Psh", Atem shook his head, "I could look into your eyes for an eternity", he spoke.
"Guys, I can hear you being mushy", came Yugi's voice from the other side of the bedroom door across the room, "Grandpa's making us pancakes so get up or I'll eat yours!" The sound of his footsteps down the hallway sounded, and Eshe spied the slight pinkish tint to Atem's cheeks, and the pout on his lips.
"Pancakes sound good", Eshe remarked, suddenly realising how empty her stomach felt, and Atem sighed, his eyes lowering momentarily as he contemplated if pancakes were worth losing the warmth and comfort of the bed.
"I don't want to let go of you though", he murmured sincerely, and Eshe smiled, leaning down to brush a gentle kiss to his lips.
"I'm not going anywhere", she promised. She wasn't going to leave him again.
"Let me guess, you're here because you require a flight on my private jet, again", Seto inquired bluntly, a slight sharpness to his snarky voice as he continued to type away at something on his laptop, blue eyes scanning the screen before him, not bothering to glance upwards at Eshe and Atem who had just walked into his office.
"Uh…" Atem glanced back at Eshe, blinking a few times before facing Seto again with a vaguely sheepish, humble look, "Well, ah, that wasn't the only reason we came…"
Seto ceased tapping his fingers and looked up from below his arched brow, "Oh, you're here to request multiple favours?"
"Actually, we came to thank you", Eshe cut in, stepping up beside Atem, "You really helped us out against Atsu in the Outer Dimension. We're very grateful."
One of Seto's eyebrows rose, "Is that so?" his tone was sarcastic, it was clear he thought that the couple's presence was an unnecessary distraction, but Eshe merely smiled in response to his mordacity.
Seto had been beyond helpful long before the warehouse incident, from what Atem had told her; the CEO had been responsible for the groups transportation back to Japan from Egypt, having offered them a spot on his private jet (yes, even Joey), after Atem had turned away from the afterlife gates the first time. Seto had given Atem a bank account with ten thousand dollars in it to make his remaining ninety days more comfortable - Atem hadn't even asked for anything like that, nobody had prompted the CEO to do such a generous deed.
The billionaire had allowed Eshe to enter his new theme park, Kaibaland, on its opening day despite not being a known duelist, so that she could spend the day with her friends, and not long after that, he had literally saved Eshe from being kidnapped by Atsu after she had been forced to walk home from work all alone. If Seto hadn't pulled over in his limo and told her to get into the vehicle, well, things might not have turned out they way they had in the end.
The CEO had come when Atem had called, panicked and afraid for Eshe and Yugi's lives after they had been taken. Seto had insisted he only turned up to help retrieve the God cards, and that he was not concerned about their safety the whole time, but Eshe was observant enough to catch the dismissive lie and uncover the micro expressions that revealed how on-edge he had been throughout the time threats were leaving Atsu's mouth.
"Yes, that is so. Thank you, Seto", Eshe spoke.
Seto rolled his eyes, "It's not because I care."
"Oh, of course not", Eshe nodded with an amusing, satirical note to her voice.
Atem smirked, "Whether or not you helped us out of the kindness of your heart, we appreciate it", the tanned boy spoke, "We're having a little… party, of sorts, before we go back to Egypt. Tomorrow afternoon at the Game shop, you're invited if you want to come?"
"I don't want to come", the CEO responded icily, his eyes falling back down to his computer.
"I thought so", Atem nodded, "If you happen to change your mind, though, you're welcome to turn up."
Seto rolled his eyes again and Atem cleared his throat, pushing the entertained smile from his face, "Anyway… about that flight-"
"-About our duel", the CEO interrupted, "This afternoon at three o'clock, come back so you can honour your word."
Eshe's gaze flickered to Atem, her hand skittishly tightening around his with an expectant smile on her face; the boy had just told her before entering to room that 'Kaiba will absolutely want to duel', and she had been waiting for it from the moment they stepped into his office.
"Alright", Atem affirmed, a lilt of humour underlying his voice, "I'll be back at three. We really do need a flight to Egypt though-"
"I've already arranged it", Seto stated dourly, "Now leave. I have emails I need to answer."
Eshe's eyes widened in pleasant surprise, and she grinned, glancing briefly at Atem who looked extremely gratified.
"Thank you, Kaiba", he spoke, being sure to let all of his appreciation sink into his words, and the CEO offered a brief hum in response that he made sure to fill with all his clear agitation.
No matter how much Seto denied it, Eshe knew he had a heart, and she knew he was far more like his ancient counterpart than he cared to admit.
It felt strange, walking down the streets of Domino knowing that in a few short days, Eshe would never return; the city had only been her home for just under six months, but already she knew she would miss it. There were some truly beautiful parts of the bustling metropolis that she wished she had time to revisit before heading back to Egypt, but she would have to make do with just a few.
Eshe squeezed Atem's hand briefly as they walked through the park in which they had had their first date - there were other places that held a fond place in Eshe's heart, such as the aquarium or the pier, but the park was her fondest memory - it was the closest thing to the ancient palace gardens, with blossoming shrubbery, beautiful flowers and a large pond. It made the world feel warm and content to simply walk on through with the boy she loved.
The boulevard of benches was full of families with young children all feeding the pigeons with birdseed as Eshe and Atem once had. It was a welcomed sight to watch younger kids sitting calmly in the presence of the birds as opposed to chasing them around whilst screaming; if there was one thing in the world that Eshe didn't like, it was rowdy children disturbing birds.
All the young ones in the park were surprisingly well-behaved on that warm summer's day.
Eshe wished she could sit on a bench with Atem and watch the world go by in pleasant quietness, hand in hand, with only the ambient noise of happily chattering families and the distant sound of traffic.
There was somewhere Eshe had to be, however, and if they dawdled any longer, Atem might not make it back in time for his duel with Seto.
The bell above the door rang as Eshe entered the confectionary cafe with Atem slipping in cautiously behind her; the silver-haired boy behind the counter looked up, a reflexive smile on his face that he donned to welcome new customers, but the moment he realised who he was looking at, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open in surprise.
"Wow, look who it is!" Haru snapped, a hard pout on his face, "You do realise that after three no-call, no-show shifts, and no returned calls, you are so fired."
Eshe smiled apologetically, sensing that Haru was not entirely happy that she had appeared to abandon him and left him to work several shifts alone without giving a reason as to why she had just disappeared - but there was an underlying relief in his gaze, she could tell he had been worried.
"I know", Eshe spoke, "Some stuff happened, too crazy to explain, but it doesn't matter."
Haru didn't seem placated with her flimsy, uninformative excuse, but he didn't appear interested in pushing for details; instead he let his mouth sink into a pout, "Too crazy for a call, huh? Well, whatever. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt but the boss dropped you quicker than a burning log."
Eshe snickered, "It's fine. As I said, it doesn't matter now. I'm, uh, moving to Egypt."
Haru blinked, eyes growing wide, "To Egypt?" his gaze flickered to Atem and he rose a curiously arched eyebrow, "Let me guess… you're going with her?"
Atem frowned, a perplex look in his gaze as Haru addressed him, "Um, well, yes."
Haru's pout grew further, "Man… that sucks. The hot guys never stick around."
Growing adorably bashful, Atem blinked his pretty purple eyes in confusion, inadvertently batting his eyelashes in a way that only served to make him look more delicious. Eshe rolled her eyes with a smirk.
In all Atem's years growing up as a public royal figure, hearing countless times a day that he was ridiculously handsome and beautiful, and he still didn't know how to react when someone complimented him - it was something that Eshe loved about him, that her sometimes confident, sometimes cocky beloved could still be made speechless with a few flirty words of praise.
"Watch it, Haru. This hot guy is mine."
Haru raised an eyebrow, "Hey, come on now, Eshe. Sharing is caring." His pout formed a smirk as he looked back to Atem, "Can't I get like… one kiss?" His inquiry was accompanied by a sly wink, and Eshe watched Atem's face turn the same colour as a tomato, his hand raising up to partially cover the shy embarrassment in his cheeks.
"Haru, quit it, you're making him uncomfortable", Eshe spoke, a playful tone of warning in her voice, "and, need I remind you that I, Atem's girlfriend, am standing right here."
"Come on, Eshe", Haru whined, "Do you know how hard it'll be to find a guy as gorgeous as him?"
Atem cleared his throat, his hand rubbing against the back of his neck; the tips of his ears had become the same bright red as his warm cheeks.
Eshe gave Haru the fakest sweet smile she could muster, "Oh, don't worry Haru. I'm sure you'll find a guy as attractive, wonderful and kind as Atem - maybe even more so!"
Haru blinked, tilting his head slightly, "What, really? You think so?"
The hopeful tone in the silver-haired boy's voice was quite hilarious as Eshe blankly responded, "Nope."
Grabbing the Atem's hand tightly, Eshe spun around to leave the cafe, trying her best to restrain her giggles at her brief sight of Haru's scandalised expression, "Bye forever!" she squeaked as she heard him begin to stutter, and quickly slipped out of the door with the tanned boy in tow. Once they were outside and away from the overly coquettish cafe worker, Eshe cupped Atem's cheek, admiring the peppering of pink over his face that he attempted to hide, and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips.
"Haru might be annoying but he does preach the truth. You're gorgeous", Eshe whispered, a small smirk on her face.
"Stop", Atem responded with a coy grin, "You're gorgeous."
"No, you."
"Shush. You."
Their honeyful words were quickly interrupted, which was probably a good thing given Eshe had just started to realise how much they sounded like the mushy and cliched kids in love from every teen romance film ever made, by a heavily accented voice from behind them.
"Oh my God, you're both pretty. Now what's this I hear about you and Kaiba havin' a duel later?" It was Joey, of course, and the blond held a teasing smile on his face, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans as he marched towards them.
"Joey", Atem exclaimed, a little discomposed at being caught murmuring such syrupy words to Eshe, "How do you know about the duel?"
"What d'ya mean how do I know? There's ads for it everywhere! It's gonna be broadcasted but there's a surprisingly cheap entrance fee to watch in person!"
"Wha?" Atem blinked, caught a little off-guard, "I didn't realise Kaiba wanted it to be so public."
"You're not nervous are ya?" Joey taunted, a snarky grin on his face, and Eshe almost snorted.
Atem was often put off by large crowds of people, generally, but when it came to dueling, he was at peak confidence - probably the exact opposite of Eshe when she was dueling.
"Absolutely not", Atem practically snapped, "If Kaiba wants a huge audience to witness his humiliating loss then so be it!"
During a duel was also when Atem was at his most arrogant, it seemed. His remark brought back memories of their past, when Eshe would observe the many times Atem had delivered a Priest Seto a swift and humiliating defeat through their numerous games of Senet.
There was something funny about the fact that Atem had retained that slight immature streak; she couldn't wait to watch the duel knowing that Atem was no longer held back with any sort of stress over their situation. For the past three months, she had come to understand that all Atem's mannerisms held some semblance of worry; that he was almost constantly tense, his shoulders drawn back, always on high alert.
Now, he was peaceful. He was himself, and Eshe was glad.
Eshe bit her lip in an effort to control her beaming grin; she sat with her friends in the VIP section of the arena that had the clearest view of the duel taking place and was currently full of unbridled glee brought on by the simply charming expression of excitement on Atem's face as he drew a card from his deck.
Seto Kaiba glared at his opponent with his usual frosty, blue gaze, but Eshe could very easily pick up on the underlying amusement in his features - he hid it so well, but it's not like he was a master of deception, the CEO's micro expressions were very telling to say the least.
The two rivals truly enjoyed facing each other. For a moment, it was as if the duel was not about winning or losing, not about being better than the other - but about having fun. The typical banter between them was amusing enough, but it only seemed to spur the other on whenever one of them gave a teasing taunt - it fuelled them both, the specific chemistry the two of them shared was so precise and said a lot about their friendship.
Seto would totally deny it was a friendship at all, but Eshe knew better.
The crowds of people seated in the arena were on the edges of their seats, cheering for their favourite duelist, holding up signs of encouragement for either duelist - it was funny, the amount of fans Atem had assembled ever since the broadcasted duel again Seto at Kaibaland.
Eshe licked her lips as she scanned Atem's face on the screens posted around the arena, giving viewers a better picture of the duelist's reactions. A smirk was hidden in the corner of his lips and there was a warm look in his eyes as he looked down at the card he had just drawn.
It must've been the Dark Magician; Eshe could pinpoint the look in a heartbeat - she knew the ins and outs of Atem's expression when he was looking at his favourite card.
"Ugh, he's so dreamy!"
"I wanna kiss him all over!"
"Back off, I saw him first!"
Eshe blinked, and slowly turned to look over her shoulder at the standard seating area just behind the VIP block to find three squeaky girls who might as well have had hearts in their eyes, and they were looking directly at Atem.
Shaking her head slightly, Eshe looked back towards the duel, pushing the girls out of her mind. She had absolutely no need to be jealous that three girls were paying her boyfriend a little too much attention - they could look all they wanted, but they could never touch. She knew Atem was faithful to her, and no random, lustful girl was ever going to change that.
"Okay girls, after this duel ends, we have to follow him around until he pays attention to us."
Eshe felt her jaw clench as the giggles erupted behind her along with a unanimous affirmation between the three girls; she couldn't help but peek over her shoulder again at them, trying her best to restrain the dirty look that she so desperately wanted to hit them with.
One of the girls had short, curly, reddish-brown hair with big, round eyes that matched - she was very pretty and appeared to be the 'leader' of their little posse. The other two girls were conventionally attractive with long, straight, blonde hair and blue eyes and had a very cheerleader-esque look about them. If Eshe was in the mood to assign high-school stereotypes, she'd place the burgundy-haired girl as the popular, charismatic type with the blonde girls as her blander, fellow minions.
Eshe sighed, knowing that she was making some pretty snap judgements in her head about the girls - obviously, despite not wanting to get jealous, it was just impossible sometimes.
"I tribute my Gazelle and my Queen's Knight to summon the Dark Magician!" Atem's voice over the speakers pulled her bitter thoughts back to the duel at hand, and she smiled when she realised she had correctly deduced the card he had drawn at the beginning of that turn.
"Next I activate my spell card, Thousand Knives, to destroy your Luster Dragon #2!"
Eshe smiled widely at the cocky grin on Atem's face and the narrow glare Seto gave him as his monster was banished to the graveyard; the CEO didn't look too worried, and probably had a face-down spell or trap card ready to keep his lifepoints from being damaged too badly.
She was right, for after Atem called for the Dark Magician to attack Seto's lifepoints directly, the other boy quickly revealed his trap card, Negate Attack.
The duel was far from over, it seemed.
"Oh, my poor Atem almost had it! Don't worry, I still believe in you, baby~!" the burgundy-haired girl cried from behind Eshe.
'Your poor Atem!? Girl, he's mine!' Eshe thought, releasing a slight growl from the back of her throat. She blushed slightly when Joey turned to look at her curiously from where he sat beside her, a questioning eyebrow arched inquisitively.
It sobered her up a little, and she quickly turned back to the field, figuring that listening to the girls' silly remarks would only serve to make her more irritated.
Eshe still had to deal with the annoying comments throughout the entire duel, her shoulders drawing tightly together every time one of the girls made an unnecessary comment about how they were going to make Atem theirs no matter what it took. She really deserved a medal for managing to at least act like she was ignoring them instead of turning to snap at them at any point throughout.
Atem won in the end, as Eshe had predicted he would, and she'd had the entire duel to prepare for the squeals of the three girls a few rows behind her.
"YES! My baby won the duel!"
"He's sexy and a great duelist!"
"Oh my God, is he coming over here or am I going crazy!?"
Eshe paused grinding her teeth to notice that Atem was making his way towards the VIP stands, a delighted smile on his face as he paid no mind to the cheering crowds all around him, and looked directly towards her, not the lovesick girls.
"I think he's smiling at me!"
"Girl, you should totally get his number, like, right now!"
Eshe shot up in her seat, having had enough of the ridiculously ambitious comments from the girls sat behind her; she'd show them exactly who Atem belonged to. With firm determination, she marched away from her friends and down the steps of the VIP stands towards her boyfriend.
Atem quirked an eyebrow curiously at the sharp expression on her face, wondering why she was strutting towards him with such a tenacious and predatory look.
The satisfaction that built within Eshe was immeasurable as she heard one of the girls in the stands exclaims "What's she doing-" before being swiftly cut off as she cupped Atem's face and captured his lips with enthusiastic resolve.
Atem blinked wildly for a moment, his cheeks growing hot before his eyes slipped closed and he returned the kiss with shy keenness, even artfully nibbling at Eshe's lower lip, letting his tongue brush gently against it. Eshe pulled back with a sly grin, glancing briefly over her shoulder to spy the agape expressions on the girl's faces.
It felt good to kiss Atem so passionately while making a point to the snooty girls who boldly thought they could claim him as their own, and to once again witness that adorable pink flush over Atem's face.
The party that occurred the following day was everything Eshe loved. Music, games, dancing, delicious food, and the company of all her closest friends. The atmosphere, however, was somewhat bittersweet. Everyone in the room was aware that it was the last time they would all be together like this, because in just two days, Eshe and Atem were to leave for the afterlife, and it would be a long, long time before the gang would see them again.
So everyone chose to put out of their minds that small fact, and instead they kept their spirits high and had fun, as if this was just another normal get together of friends. When a slower song began to play over the speakers, Atem pulled Eshe close and began to dance with her, ignoring the teasing grins of their friends. While Joey and Tristan were howling with laughter and excitement as they faced each other in Mario Kart, Eshe watched Yugi approach Téa out of the corner of her eye and give her a bright, shy smile.
"Hey, um, I was thinking, maybe we could go to the movies or something? Sometime next week?"
Eshe felt her heart pulse and quickly grabbed the sleeve of Atem's shirt, tugging on it to motion to him the hopeful boy, who was very clearly asking Téa out on a date - and FINALLY - whispering to the blue-eyed girl over by the snack table. Atem glanced up, smirking when he realised what was unveiling in front of him.
"Oh!" Téa squeaked quietly, a slight redness appearing in her cheeks, "I'd love to!"
'At last!' Eshe thought, her grin doubling in size, and she caught sight of Yugi's eyes flickering towards Atem - to which Atem gave him a thumbs up, causing the younger boy to turn the colour of a tomato. Eshe smiled fondly at the gesture - oh yes, spiritual brothers indeed.
The coy moment was interrupted when Tristan screamed victoriously, shoving his hands up in the air, "YES! First place again! Take that, Joey!"
Joey very quickly accused the other of cheating.
How do you even cheat at Mario Kart?
Eshe released an audible breath, her fingers fidgeting with the small, wrapped box in front of her on the diner table. Their flight to Egypt was at half past three in the afternoon that day, but Seto's driver was picking them up at midday because the CEO didn't trust Joey to be ready by the given time.
It was just past eleven in the morning, and Eshe had something she needed to do first.
"Are you alright?" Atem asked softly across from her, and Eshe gave him a sad smile, nodding her head as she kept her gaze low, resting on the neatly enfolded violet package before her, tied with a sparkly green ribbon.
A sigh left her mouth as she tapped her fingertips rhythmically against the table, leaning her cheek heavily in her palm, and let her eyes scan the room for the fifth time since they'd entered the place.
A somewhat clumsy waitress stumbled from table to table, watching the drinks on the tray she held very closely to avoid dropping them - she looked like a relatively new employee at the diner, evident by the way she moved unsurely, presented herself nervously when speaking to customers, and the way she stopped every few minutes to take a calming breath - clearly she wasn't used to her job yet. She was about Eshe's age with dusty brown hair reaching her lower back, olive skin and blue eyes that blinked furiously, framed with thin lens glasses, as she shuffled around frantically trying to get customer's orders to their tables.
As the waitress passed their table, Eshe caught sight of the name tag pinned to her blouse - her name was Wren, and she was pretty.
The only reason Eshe was so attentive of her was because she had seen the girl speaking several times to her bubbly coworker, Leela.
Eshe had been very aware of Wren's mannerisms while speaking to Leela, and the habitual way Leela responded with silent body language; when Wren spoke to the green-eyed girl, she wore a smile that reached her eyes, she nibbled her lip nervously and she played with her hair, twirling the loose, long strands between two fingers. Leela played it cool, winking as she passed her, and when Wren wasn't looking, she watched her slyly out of the corner of her eye with a look of admiration.
They were crushing on each other pretty hard, and Eshe wondered if it was as obvious to everyone else in the diner as it was to her.
Eshe's eyes fell again to the wrapped gift on the table before her, contemplating exactly how she would present it to the girl who was once her best friend.
The girl who no longer remembered who she was.
The girl who had been manipulated and done some things she had briefly expressed remorse over before her memories were stripped from her.
Eshe didn't know if she had forgiven Leela just yet, or if the green-eyed girl deserved the gift she had so thoughtfully picked out for her, but it just felt right for Eshe to leave her with something, if not any recollection of their times together.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, thank you for waiting!" Wren squeaked as she came to a stop by Eshe and Atem's table, "Whew, this place is pretty busy - I'm still kinda new here so you'll have to forgive me, I've only worked here three weeks-" She put on a very strained smile, clearly a little stressed out by how heaving the diner was for so early in the day.
Eshe gave her an encouraging smile, showing that she was not at all bothered by the long wait, "Just a lemonade for me, please", she spoke, figuring she'd make it easy for the pressured girl.
Wren nodded in affirmation before turning to Atem, "And for you, sir?"
Atem blinked owlishly, before saying, "I'll have the same, thank you." Eshe smirked, wondering if the boy had actually consumed a carbonated drink since he'd obtained his own body.
"Coming right up!" Wren exclaimed with a nod, before disappearing off behind the counter.
While they waited for their drinks, Eshe peered at Leela who was busy serving another table; she seemed happy, lively as she spoke to her customers, a wide, zestful and honest smile on her face, and there was a sort of freedom in her eyes that Eshe had never seen before.
Not weighed down by the events of her past life or the manipulation she'd endured, or even the crippling jealousy that had infected her, Leela appeared to be bright, optimistic and kind - the person she should've been from the start.
Without her devious brother using cunning words to control her, she could finally just live her life, and Eshe felt the sandy-haired girl could naturally travel the redemptive path - and maybe, maybe, they would meet again one day.
Wren reappeared with two glasses of lemonade, each with a striped straw and a wedge of lemon on the rim. Wren delivered them with a smile, she and Atem thanked her gratefully and before the waitress could wander off again, Eshe quickly spoke up.
"Excuse me-" She inquired almost hesitantly, and Wren swung around again with a sheepish look on her face.
"Sorry, I should've asked if there was anything else you needed!" the waitress squeaked, worried she had appeared rude by turning to leave so quickly.
"Oh, no, everything's fine, I just wanted to ask a favour."
"A favour?" there was a slight suspicion in Wren's blue eyes that Eshe found amusing.
"Yes, I wanted to know if you could give this to Leela", Eshe held up the nicely-wrapped box, "It's her birthday, and I want her to have this."
"It's her birthday?" Wren blinked, looking back to the sandy-haired girl who was busy talking to a table full of customers, "Huh. She didn't even tell me. I guess I can deliver it for you, what's your name?"
"I'm… an old friend of her's but something tells me she wouldn't remember me. I don't want to create an awkward situation for her so I was hoping… can you give this to her and say it's from you?" Eshe gave the girl an apologetic smile for the strange request, and Wren blinked, arching an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Say it's from me? I don't understand."
"Please- I know it sounds weird. She won't remember me and I don't want to make her uncomfortable by presenting her with a gift if she thinks me a stranger- especially not this gift." Eshe implored, her eyes pleading and hopeful, "You'd be doing me a great kindness."
Wren bit her lip contemplatively, "Well, this seems very important to you", she smiled, "Alright, I'll do it", she nodded.
"Thank you", Eshe spoke gratefully, handing the present over.
Wren took it and approached Leela as she finished with the customers, Eshe watched the inaudible conversation take place as Wren offered the little wrapped box to Leela, she could practically decipher the exchange despite the two being out of earshot - the body language was a dead giveaway. Leela seemed surprised Wren had somehow remembered her birthday despite never being told, but the dark-haired girl appeared to come up with an excuse that satisfied Leela - maybe she'd said that she heard it from someone else - and as Leela gently pried the wrapping paper away, Eshe saw her green eyes widen.
The silver chained necklace with a golden-brown tiger's eye gemstone pendant, decorated with tiny rose quartz stones encrusted around the centrepiece, was an item Leela had noticed in a jewellery shop window several months prior - the green-eyed girl had made a playful remark that Eshe should buy it for her when her birthday arrived. Leela had meant it as a heedless joke at the time, but Eshe had remembered.
Leela looked up at Wren with shock, her lips moving inquisitively before Wren stiffly looked over her shoulder at Eshe. Leela had probably asked if she had actually gotten that gift for her; and Eshe smiled encouragingly, nodding subtly.
Wren looked back to Leela, an apprehensive smile on her face, and nodded; Leela wrapped her arms around the girl with unmatched appreciation, and Eshe could read the 'thank you' on her lips. Perhaps Wren and Leela could create something special together.
Eshe smiled, nodding to herself, satisfied with how everything had unfolded; she looked back to Atem, who was eyeing his lemonade with curiosity, watching the bubbles rise from the bottom of the glass insistently.
"Drink it", Eshe told him avidly, keen to watch him taste the beverage.
He rose an eyebrow and popped the straw into his mouth; Eshe could tell the moment the soft drink entered his mouth. Atem's eyes narrowed and his lips scrunched up briefly as the fizzy sensation travelled over his tongue, unfamiliar and different.
"Good?" Eshe inquired, taking a sip of her own lemonade.
Atem swallowed the mouthful, looked pensive for a moment, and then smiled, taking another sip. "It's weird. I like it."
Eshe giggled, finding the occurrence of Atem imbibing a fizzy drink for the first time rather adorable. If her gaze had been elsewhere, she might've caught the lingering, incisive glance from a pair of curious green eyes.
The flight to Egypt was long, roughly twelve hours, and the sun was low on the horizon by the time they were flying over solid ground again; Eshe stared out of the small plane window, enamoured as she looked at the land below, her eyes scanning the sandy terrain of the desert as it merged with cities, lights dotted around the urban areas.
She was home, give or take a few thousand years out of the loop. Something welled up in Eshe's heart as she looked upon the land she had lived in three millennia ago, a weird sort of nostalgia that made her clutch Atem's hand a little tighter; he squeezed her palm back in return, offering a reassuring look of understanding.
After the group landed in Seto's private jet at Cairo airport, Eshe and the others exited the plane and were greeted by a shockingly familiar face.
Eshe paused, staring at the Egyptian woman stood before them; she wore an off-white linen dress and there was a shiny circlet of gold sitting upon her head, an emerald hanging down from it. Her hair was black, her eyes were blue, and there was a knowing, warm smile on her attractive face.
"Welcome back, my pharaoh", the woman greeted Atem, bowing her head respectfully, and Eshe blinked her wide eyes, turning to the boy beside her in surprise.
"It's Isis", she whispered confusedly, "How is she here?"
Atem smiled apologetically at Eshe, "This is Ishizu Ishtar. Her family guarded my tomb for generations and she played a significant part in helping me to retrieve my lost memories - we met before the Battle City tournament. Just like Isis, she wielded the power of the Millennium necklace." Eshe nodded as she took in the information, curiously looked back at the woman - Ishizu - and figured she most likely did not hold the memories of her previous incarnation, just like Seto Kaiba. At least, Eshe assumed she was the priestess's modern incarnation - it was a little bit too coincidental given the uncanny resemblance and the fact that she had links with the Millennium items.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, you must be Queen Eshe." Ishizu bowed her head again and Eshe's cheeks reddened slightly as she bowed back.
"It's nice to meet you, Ishizu."
"Ishizu is a museum curator", Yugi spoke as he walked up behind them, giving the Egyptian woman a wave, "If it wasn't for her, it probably would've taken a lot longer for us to learn the secrets of Atem's past." He spoke fondly and gratefully, and Eshe smiled up at the woman, realising just how helpful she must have been.
Eshe's eyes focused on the figure approaching over Ishizu's shoulder and her face fell as she caught sight of another familiar individual. She tensed as she recognised the unmistakable face of Marik Ishtar, the boy who had purportedly done some rather terrible things throughout the Battle City tournament - Atem had spoken about him briefly, how he had used to Millennium rod to hurt them.
She looked searchingly to Atem, and he must've recognised the worried look in her eyes, because he offered another smile of assurance and quietly told her, "Marik is a good person, he was susceptible to the dark powers of the Millennium rod during Battle City, but has since redeemed himself." Eshe trusted Atem's word, dipping her head in acknowledgement before setting her sights on Marik once more, somewhat wary.
The Egyptian boy greeted them as he stopped beside his sister, his violet eyes scanning Eshe's face with wholesome curiosity; he tilted his head ever so slightly, brushing his white-gold hair out of his face, and smiled brightly at the others in the group, as if greeting old friends.
There was nothing amoral in his gaze as she had remembered seeing when watching the duels involving him during Battle City, it seemed that Atem was right, there was no evil in the boy. Eshe smiled in the most friendly way she could, hoping her cautious look hadn't come off as rude before.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Queen Eshe", Marik spoke, more relaxed than before, "I regret that we were unable to do more to assist in bringing your memories back", he told her apologetically.
"Hey, don't worry about it buddy", Joey spoke up as he appeared at Eshe's side, a beaming grin on his face, "Everything turned out a-okay in the end!"
Marik seemed content at the blond's cheerful exclamation, and nodded his head in agreement.
"Now, is anybody else starving or is it just me?" Tristan remarked loudly, and Téa rolled her eyes at the boy's none-too-subtle way of inquiring when they were going to have dinner. Eshe chuckled slightly as Téa grumbled something about Tristan 'only thinking with his stomach', and secretly thought to herself that dinner sounded quite nice - one last big meal before they headed to the Valley of the Kings the following morning, surrounded by her friends, struck Eshe as the perfect way to conclude their time together before the inevitable happened. She would make sure to savour every moment of it.
Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh.
The name struck sadness in Eshe's heart, her steps hesitant as she looked upon the entrance that led down into the crypt, the ancient sepulchre of her husband, Pharaoh Atem. While it was undeniably weird, interlocking fingers with the very much alive boy beside her as they descended the steps into his burial place, it was also frighteningly sorrowful, knowing the even still, the world was unaware of the tremendous sacrifice Atem had given in order to save it.
Nameless Pharaoh.
He was not nameless. He was Atem. She regretted that the tomb was regarded as a resting place for someone completely anonymous as far as archaeologists knew, but as the air grew mustier and they moved down, lower and lower, the ancient carvings in the walls revealed just how special and loved the tomb's occupant was.
Eshe swallowed hard, her eyes shutting briefly as she silently thanked Priest Seto for putting so much care into building a grave worthy of exhibiting just how important this nameless pharaoh was.
The entire group was quiet, their faces etched with sadness at the inevitable parting of their friends, and Eshe smiled at them even as her eyes watered - she owed them all so much. Even Seto and Mokuba Kaiba had joined them to witness their farewell - the younger brother held a pout on his face while the older of the two looked stony as usual.
The Tablet of Lost Memories was displayed on the wall while the Millennium Stone was placed before it, a carving that was made long ago to hold the Millennium items safely when they were not being used. As Yugi and the others slotted the powerful objects into place, Eshe gazed up at the tablet, scanning the scene depicted.
A slightly mirthful smile reached her face as she looked at the carving of Atem, showing his ever-crazy hair pointing up in all directions as he stood across from Priest Seto, the two of them seemingly locked in the heat of a duel, if the familiar monsters above them where any clue to go by. The carving was incredibly intrinsic and glorious - Priest Seto had truly put a lot of thought into the design of it.
Her eyes fell to the cartouche carving at the base where the pharaoh's name had been chipped away, and she wondered if it made Atem as emotional to view as it did her - probably not, she had always been an over-emotional mess.
When all the Millennium items were in place, Atem appeared by her side, his heavy gaze set on the tablet ahead, and in his hands he clutched the God cards.
It was finally time for them to return to the place they belonged.
She glanced up at him carefully, and he looked back at her, a spark of sadness in his eyes, and she knew why. In all the time Atem had spent in the modern day, both as the Spirit of the Puzzle, and as his own person in his own body, he had grown attached to the group behind them - she didn't blame him, they were such wonderful people, and probably the best friends she could have ever asked for.
Eshe nodded gently, prompting him to do what he had to do.
Clutching Eshe's hand tightly, Atem held up the God cards, willing the gate of the afterlife to open; after a few moments, there was a blinding light, and the tablet on the wall began to part, as if opening up the way. Eshe inhaled sharply, feeling the warmth of the light on her face, and slowly, the scene before her became clear.
Her ancient friends stared back, their faces filled with an emotion that seemed indescribable, an overwhelming feeling that Eshe could only compare to the sensation of seeing a loved one after years of being apart. It was something she felt upon reuniting with Atem after her memories had returned, and it was something she felt that very second as she stared at everybody who had made an impact on her in her previous life.
It was time.
Eshe and Atem turned slowly to face the rest of the group.
Nobody spoke for a few moments, and Eshe noted the way their jaws clenched, the glossiness of their eyes, and their bawled fists at their sides.
Yugi forced a smile, "I guess this is goodbye", his voice broke part way through his sentence as his eyes flickered to Atem. Eshe swallowed around the lump in her throat, realising how hard it was for Yugi especially to be saying farewell to the boy he had come to see as his older brother.
Eshe looked to Téa, giving her a tearful smile as she held out her arms; the brown-haired girl stepped forward immediately, swinging her arms around Eshe in a tight hug. With a commendable attempt to keep the blubbering out of her voice, Téa whimpered, "I'm going to miss having a female friend."
Eshe snorted, rubbing her own eyes as she tried to keep it together; she always admired Téa for her incredibly caring, kind nature - the girl was intuitive and always well-prepared, and Eshe was truly going to miss her very much.
Joey and Tristan fought intensely not to cry, but in doing so they only succeeded in making their faces scrunch up comically, their mouths drawn into quite extreme pouts as they blinked frantically to dispel the tears in their eyes.
Despite the boys' knack for teasing and giving sarcastic remarks, they were both incredibly considerate and benevolent - Eshe would absolutely miss watching them wrestle each other over the outcome of their video-game battles. They scooped her up in huge hug, practically squashing her as they sniffled about the good times they'd had.
Yugi looked up at Eshe as she turned to him, through his wide and tearful gaze, smiling despite himself. Her jaw clenched as she stared at the slightly shorter boy and her lips parted when she realised something of great significance.
If it wasn't for Yugi Muto, the Millennium Puzzle would never have been reassembled. If it wasn't boy the young boy standing in front of her, Eshe and Atem would never have been brought back together - Yugi was the deciding factor in their destiny, the boy who was so unselfish, good-natured and determined, just like Atem.
"Thank you", Eshe whispered, "All of you- for everything. For bringing Atem and I back together", at last, the tears in her eyes fell down her cheeks, and she embraced Yugi with all the gratitude she could muster.
Yugi seemed speechless for a short moment, blinked wildly before hugging her back; at that point, Joey and Tristan took it upon themselves to initiate a group hug, pulling Atem and Téa into the affectionate bundle of friendly compassion.
Eshe thought she heard Seto exasperatedly grumble, 'oh, brother', but it might have just been in her head.
When they all pulled apart, Atem glanced over at the icy CEO, and stepped slowly up to him, a knowing smirk on his face, and then, quite unexpectedly, Seto held out his hand with an accompanying eyeroll.
Atem grabbed his hand in a respectful rival's handshake and Seto glared down into Atem's self-satisfied face, "This isn't the end, pharaoh, I will find a way to duel you again."
Atem chuckled, "If you say so, Kaiba." The exchange was oddly endearing in Eshe's eyes.
When Atem returned to Eshe's side, he faced the group, a doleful smile on his face, "If it wasn't for all of you, I may still have been trapped within the Puzzle. You are… the greatest friends I have ever had", he paused, choked up with emotion, and took a deep breath, "Téa, Tristan and Joey, thank you for all you have done for me, and Yugi…" the smile on his face wobbled as his lip quivered, but he managed to maintain it, "Out of all the people in history that might've been able to solve the Millennium Puzzle, I am forever thankful that it was you."
The rest was left unspoken as Yugi's face scrunched up slightly, and he dipped his head in a nod, his eyes full of nothing short of utmost admiration.
The afterlife was calling to them, willing them to follow the warmth of the light, and Atem slowly turned to face the gate, his eyes landing on Eshe with a spark of hesitation in his features.
"You are… completely sure of this?"
Atem's words surprised her - as if there was any way she could change her mind now. No, Eshe had already made her decision.
"I go wherever you go", she told him softly, and his mind was eased.
With fingers intertwined, together, they stepped forwards and passed through the gates.
Notes: Oh gosh, guys, the next chapter is the epilogue aka the final chapter. I am having an emotion. In the next chapter, the usual ending author note will be at the top of the page, and I also have a little announcement to make about my next fanfiction project that might make some of you guys happy ;)