"We're sorry," the automated woman's voice chimed in monotone, "The number you are trying to reach is not available or has been disconnected. Goodbye."

Seto hung up his phone and slipped it back into his jacket pocket.

He knew he'd get the same message he'd been getting for the past three days, but he still had to try.

Seto retrieved his set of keys from his pocket and fished for the apartment key. He hadn't bothered to knock, but this wouldn't have been the first time he came in without announcing himself. He frowned at the Blue Eyes White Dragon key chain. But he let it hang by its teeth while he slipped the key into the lock.

He remembered that even a year ago, even when Atem was prepared to take his life, the dragon had made him laugh. Seto wished all he needed to hear Atem laugh again was something so simple.

The inside of the apartment was more worthy of Seto's frown. While he was used to a little mess here and there when Atem had been living with Yugi in too small of a space, and their friends would frequent and trash the place, Atem on his own tried to be neat.

Seto had to push a laundry basket of clothes he couldn't assume were clean out of his way before he could even enter the apartment. He made his way through the tiny, dim apartment until he reached the bedroom. The door hung halfway open.

"Is your phone shut off because you haven't been paying your bill?" Seto asked as a way to announce himself.

Atem responded by pulling the blankets closer to his chin.

"What happened to that day job you had? Are you still going?"

Just when it looked like Atem wasn't going to answer, he finally shook his head.

"It didn't work out," he explained in a voice so hoarse Seto wondered if this was the first time he had spoken during the day.

"I'm not letting you go through this again," Seto said as he pulled Atem's bed sheets back.

Seto frowned at the sight of Atem, fully dressed in what he could only assume were the clothes he wore the day before. Even a year ago, at least Atem was willing to borrow pajamas meant for Seto to sleep in when he had nothing.

"You're not even going to bother changing your clothes before you go to sleep?"

He wore a black t-shirt and dark jeans, which couldn't have been much more comfortable than his other staple, his leather pants.

"Leave me alone. I didn't invite you over."

"I know. You haven't invited me over all week. That's how I knew something was up. Come on, you're getting up."

Seto waited for movement or compliance, or at least a response, but Atem remained still and silent, until Seto reached down and nudged his elbow.

"Give me one good reason," he groaned, withdrawing his arm from Seto's reach.

Atem then gave a weak attempt to wrestle the blankets back from Seto, but the man held fast and Atem gave up. He rolled over, his back to Seto, and curled up without the blankets. He hid his head under his pillow.

"Because I'm over here," Seto offered, even taking a step back from the bed.

"That's your fault."

Seto sighed and checked his watch. He was glad he had cleared his afternoon schedule for this.

"Fine. You're clearly not up for this."

Atem dragged the pillow off his head, but the action seem to take up the rest of his energy to move. He flopped back onto the pillow and closed his eyes.

"Please don't leave," he said barely above a whisper.

"Don't be an idiot. I'm not leaving."

"I'm not an idiot," Atem said at the same volume, as if he were too tired to raise his voice any higher.

Seto placed a knee on the bed and leaned over Atem, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"I know you're not," Seto whispered in his ear.

Atem's eyes closed more tightly but the corners of his frown softened enough that, if he hadn't been feeling so miserable Seto was sure he would have smiled at the gesture.

"I can't leave when you're like this," Seto added as he pulled off his business jacket. "You're not safe here by yourself."

Atem seemed to have nothing to say to this, or if he did he did not possess the motivation to say it out loud.

Seto was quiet a moment while he looked for a place to hang his coat in the bedroom of his boyfriend's apartment. However, all of the hooks on the coat rack in the corner were full with clothes that probably should have gone into the laundry days ago. Even the hook on the back of his door held some shopping bags Seto hoped hadn't had any food in them, because they had probably been there for some time.

He settled for folding the jacket in quarters and setting it on the bedside table, after moving several protein bar wrappers and a few empty—rather, mostly empty—soda cans. He was glad he hadn't worn his white suit to work today, in case there had been any sugary spills or chocolate crumbs that had never been wiped up.

At least he's eating, Seto thought. He removed his necktie next and laid it atop his suit coat, pulled out his cufflinks and slipped out of his shoes.

"I have one weapon in my repertoire these days that I did not have during the weekend you were staying with me in the mountains last year."

"What?" Atem asked, sounding barely interested, but at least he had answered.

"I can do this."

Seto unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. He climbed onto the bed, wishing—not for the first time—that it wasn't so small, and pulled the covers over them both. He pulled Atem close to him.

Atem did the rest, turning around to face Seto and laying his head on his shoulder.

"No, you wouldn't have done this last year," Atem mumbled into Seto's shirt. "I wish you would have, though."

"I wish I'd thought of it. We could have made better use of the first weekend we ever spent alone, rather than being at each other's throats the whole time."

"Right up until we were no longer alone. And by then it was time to leave."

Atem fell silent and Seto allowed him to have his rest and comfort.

They laid together, under the covers with their clothes on, for over an hour. Neither had fallen asleep, but neither spoke.

Seto's phone had buzzed, helping him keep track of the time. Atem might not be up for much, but Seto still needed to eat, and Atem likely did as well. He began running through his options of getting food into the apartment without taking the time away from laying together just to cook.

"We need to talk," Seto said, after sitting up and silencing his phone.

"I don't want to talk."

"I think talking might help you feel better."

Atem pulled away and laid on his pillow, still facing Seto.

"You want to end this, don't you?" Atem asked. His eyes were glassy. "I'm too much work for you. I understand. Who wants to babysit their own boyfriend, anyway?"

"I'm not the one who wants to end anything. That's you. I already told you, I'm not leaving." He leaned in and planted another kiss on his forehead. "I'm not going anywhere."

Atem did smile this time, for the first time Seto had seen in a while.

Unable to get Atem to open up, Seto re-dressed himself and left Atem in his bedroom. He returned to the living area so he could wait for the delivery of the dinner he had ordered from a local restaurant. He busied himself with cleaning up the clutter from the living quarters of the apartment, and clearing off the dining room table as best he could, so they would have a place to eat that wasn't the sofa.

Seto glanced at the sofa. Even if he wanted to be so lazy as to eat like a slob on a piece of furniture meant for sitting, it was actually the messiest area of the apartment that Seto could see.

Atem stepped out of his bedroom with a fleece blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

"Aren't you warm? It's spring," Seto said, as if he needed a reminder of the season.

Atem ignored the question.

"You said you were coming right back. What are you doing?"

As Atem asked, he looked around his apartment and then up at Seto. Atem seemed to shrink into his blanket as he realized Seto had begun his cleaning for him.

"I didn't ask you to help me."

"Your phone is turned off. Did you pay your bill?"

Atem shrugged.

"I thought buying food seemed more important."

Seto frowned. "Are you behind on rent?"

"Not yet," Atem answered in a way that suggested he might be before long.

"I know I promised I would try to stay out of your finances, but I'd like to know what the status of your savings account is."

"I never had one."

"I thought we talked about that. I told you it would be important."

"We did. But at the time I didn't have enough to put away. Then the tournament season ended, and since then…" he trailed off with a shrug.

"Sit down," Seto gestured to the dining table. "Tell me what happened with your job."

"I quit," Atem answered without moving. "Or, rather, they threatened to fire me if I didn't come in." He shrugged again. "I didn't come in."

Seto pursed his lips to hide his frown. As an employer, he would have fired Atem, too. Not Atem, he thought, but anyone else acting the way he might.

"Listen, I know you didn't ask me to help you. But I will always make myself available. In case you've forgotten and need a reminder," Seto said, stepping up to Atem and pulling the blanket off his shoulders, replacing it with his own arms, "You matter to me."

Seto leaned down and kissed the Egyptian's lips, but pulled away quickly. He hoped it wasn't too obvious.

He realized it must have been the first time he'd kissed Atem on the mouth since arriving. He wondered how long it had been since Atem had bothered to brush his teeth, but Seto could tell he hadn't in a while even with their mouths closed.

Not wanting to embarrass Atem further by drawing attention to his lack of recent hygiene—he could also tell by the way his perfectly kept hair had become scraggly that he hadn't showered in some time—Seto stepped back, helped him into a seat at the table and said nothing.

"You even washed it," Atem mumbled, wiping a finger over the glass table top of the round table.

"It had water rings on it," Seto responded as he slipped into the attached kitchen, not bothering to mention the crumbs and dust he wiped up.

Dinner was set to arrive any minute, and Seto couldn't find any dishes that didn't need to be washed by hand before they could even go into the dishwasher. Instead he rummaged through the cabinets where Atem usually kept a stack of paper plates, but found none.

He checked the overflowing garbage bag to see it filled with them, and sighed. He should have made time to come over before it got this bad.

"What are you doing now?" Atem asked.

"I'm looking for plates, but I don't see any we can use right now."

Seto returned to the dining room and took the seat beside Atem.

"I don't think I have any. I've been eating meal replacement bars lately because I don't have the energy to cook."

"It's fine. I ordered sandwiches. We can use napkins. I know you probably would have liked a hot meal, but, to be honest I suspected that this might happen."

"I know, I should just run the dishwasher." Atem looked over his shoulder toward the kitchen, even though he couldn't see in through the doorway from where he sat. "But by now…"

"If it felt like too much to take care of before," Seto explained, "I'm certain it's overwhelming by now. I understand."

Atem's eyes, which had looked glassy before, had started to turn red, and he blinked as if fighting his emotions. Finally he gave up and squeezed them shut, and slumped over onto Seto's shoulder.

"Why does everything feel so hard?" he asked hoarsely.

"You've been fighting your battle magnificently for a year now. You've just hit a low point recently. It's nothing you can't bounce back from. I promise."

"When was the last time you slept over?"

Seto paused, thinking back. "Two months ago? Your bed's too small for us both, or I might spent the night more often."

"A bigger bed won't fit in my room," Atem said, wiping at his cheek with force, as though the moisture offended him.

"But you've spent the night at my place since then."

"Not in weeks. I'm not making time for you, and I don't even have a job. You run a company, and yet you're here, making time to clean up my mess and feed me. It must be like having a pet. Why are you wasting your time with me?"

Seto took Atem's hand and interlaced their fingers.

"I just answered that inquiry. My time with you is not wasted. And do not try to insinuate that you are an animal ever again."

"But, why do I matter to you? I barely matter to myself."

The doorbell rang, and Seto eased Atem off his shoulder.

"You just do," he said, standing. "Let that be reason enough, and stop doubting me."

Seto answered the door and retrieved his wallet to pay, but paused when he looked up at the face of the man holding out the bag of sandwiches.

The man looked just as surprised at Seto was.

"Shut up, Moneybags," Jounouchi barked with a glare before Seto even opened his mouth. "I had to take this job for extra cash." But when his eyes drifted to the messy living room behind Seto, Jou tilted his head.

"Is the restaurant hiring?" Seto responded as he took the bag and handed Jounouchi his card to scan.

Jou narrowed his eyes, his apparent confusion not fading.

"Why?"

"Because I know someone who could use a job," he said in a low tone.

"Who?" Jou asked with a straight face.

Seto nodded his head toward the dining room, well aware that it was not in line of sight from the front door.

Jou glanced up at the number nailed to the door, then his eyes widened.

"Oh. I shoulda known this was his place when I saw the address. Guess that makes sense why you're here."

Seto frowned. "You're either very focused on your job, or not paying attention at all. I can't tell which."

He scanned Seto's card on a device he pulled from his shirt pocket, punched some buttons, and handed the card back.

"I'm just tryin' to keep to my schedule tonight. I thought he already had a gig. Wasn't he working at the arcade?"

"Apparently not anymore."

"Too bad. I really thought he'd like it there. You don't think he'd go for a job like this, do you?" Jou flicked the visor of the hat he wore, which matched his bright red shirt.

"If it gets him out of bed a few days a week, it will have served its purpose."

"It's boring," Jou shrugged, "but it's easy money."

"He could use something simple. An easy win would be good for him right now."

"I guess I could ask the manager if we need more people on the team. We're gettin' a little busy. If he give the thumbs up I'll bring him an app."

"That would be appreciated."

"Is… is he okay?" Jounouchi flashed another glance at the living room, but Seto let the door close a fraction and he looked away.

"Not really. Have you spoken with him lately?"

"Nah. Can't get through on his phone, and Yug' said he's not really welcoming anyone over right now. Keeps the door locked. Guess I can see why," he added quietly.

"You know he's spoken to Yugi lately?"

"He pops into the Turtle every now and then, so I hear. Sometimes I get to see him. It's been a while, though. I should try to stay in touch better."

"He could use the support."

"I bet. Is he here?"

"He is, but I don't think he wants to be seen in his current state."

"What about you, then?" Jounouchi accused. "How come he'll see you but not me?"

Seto flashed his key. "In short, I didn't ask."

"Ooh, breaking and entering. I didn't think you had it in you."

"Then you'd be surprised to see what I'm capable of."

A tiny beep sounded from Jounouchi's shirt pocket.

"Shoot. I ran over my time again." He pulled out his phone from behind the scanner and silenced the alarm. "I gotta go. Got more deliveries."

"Wait," Seto stopped him just as he stepped away. "I don't want to keep you, but do you know Yugi's schedule tomorrow?"

"It's the weekend. He'll be home. Prob'ly working the front counter for Gramps some of the time."

"That could work. What about you?"

"Me? Uh…" he paused to think it over. "Actually, I think I got the day off."

"Fantastic. You can help, too. In fact, the more hands you can gather, the better."

"Help with what?"

"Don't worry. Just be at Yugi's at nine. I'll try to get Atem there as early as possible."

"It's a plan."

Jou gave a little wave and headed off. Seto closed the door.

When he got back to Atem he set their dinner out on the table and unwrapped the sandwiches.

"What took you so long at the door?" Atem asked.

Seto stepped into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator to find some water, but came back with only one bottle and a can of ginger soda. He let it slide, since there were no clean drinking glasses to use even for tap water.

"I had to double check the order. I wasn't sure they put the sauce I requested on yours." He set both the water and the soda on the table. "This was all you had. You choose."

Atem shrugged. "I don't care. You choose."

He hadn't touched his sandwich yet.

"The water would be more healthy for you than the sugar."

"But you won't drink the soda."

"I will if you want the water."

"I said I don't care."

"Then grab one and you can start eating."

Atem growled at the command, and grabbed the can of soda just to end the discussion.

"You didn't have to wait for me to sit down before you could start eating. You know that, right?"

"I know. I'm just not very hungry."

"You might be once you start eating," he urged.

Atem sighed and picked up his sandwich. He ate one bite slowly, but the next two came with just a hint of eagerness that Seto might have missed if he wasn't paying attention.

"Are you watching me eat?" Atem asked, setting down his food for a drink of soda.

"I told you you'd want it."

Atem shrugged. "It's tasty. I guess they remembered the sauce."

Seto nodded. "I know what you like. Why did you choose the soda after all?"

"Like I said, you wouldn't drink it if I took the water."

Seto smirked. He couldn't help himself but lean over and press his lips to Atem's forehead.

"I guess you cared about something after all."

A/N: I'm sorry to post another new story before finishing my old ones; it's not my style but they're being actively worked on still. No promise date atm. But this one is nearly done and I finally have an ending for it. It will probably be longer than the first.

I've been wanting to post this story for a long time. Please let me know what you think! I didn't feel like the original Something To Hold Onto needed a sequel, but I wanted to take a look into what an established relationship between these two would look like after that set up. If these characters seem OOC to you, please take into account the original story, but please let me know if you think it's too much.

Thanks for reading! See you next time, whenever that may be.

~ohmygodagiantrock