Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter two

Realizations…

Later that same tragic day, Yugi sat cuddled in his Grandpa's arms. Still sobbing over the loss of his dear guardian, his Yami; his best friend. His eye's were lined with a deep red and his nose still continued to run. Mr Muto pulled up his blanket, to cover his chilly chest, he shivered with each gasp he inhaled. His Grandpa stared down at him with great sympathy in his eye's, he had never felt so unhappy for his young grandson.

He watched from afar, as Yugi and Yami grew as a team, he watched Yami fall madly in love with him. Yugi was also in love with Yami, sadly, he hadn't realised it yet and fell for his old school friend. Yes, they spent a lot of time together and yes they built a lot of trust over the years.

But she would never rival against Yami.

He had the ability to be charming and funny at the same time. One minuet, they'd be in a deep and meaningful conversation. Next, Yugi would be laughing at one of his witty jokes. The boys had a certain spark between them. It was as the Gods had drafted their relationship from their first meeting. Mr Muto had only seen that type of spark between his Grandson's parents. He felt privileged to watch over another glorious affiliation once more.

He could see their future, married, with adopted children, a little house in the suburbs or the country. He smiled; he was getting ahead of himself. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Kristy's entry.

She came and handed Yugi another cup of hot chocolate. His shaky hand grasped it weakly, therefore Mr Muto placed his hand swiftly under it and assisted Yugi to hold it to his quivering mouth. Taking in a gulp, he let his Grandpa rest it on the coffee table.

Kristy bent down before him. Her hazel eye's examined Yugi closely, she could sense his intense sorrow; and it frightened her. Mr Muto saw it in her eye's; she knew where his emotions laid with.

She brushed back a strand of his hair and smiled weakly. She quickly peered at her wristwatch and announced that she should leave.

"Okay, take care." Yugi spoke in a fragile state. He gave her a quick kiss and she took her leave.

As soon as the door shut, Yugi sprang from his seat and let the blanket fall to the floor, revealing the Millennium Rod. He still shook and spoke swiftly.

"Oh my Gods Grandpa, he left, he left me!!!! He's never, ever coming back!!!! Why?! Why did he leave Grandpa?!" He suddenly fell to a squat and cried harder.

"I'm not sure my boy, I'm not sure…" He lied; of course. It would have been too much for his Grandson to handle if he knew that Yami had loved him all along. He leaned back and huddled his knee's.

"Grandpa, I feel so weak; so awful." He tried his best to comfort Yugi by smiling but it didn't work.

"It hurts, so much more than it's suppose to. It's like a piece of string is wrapped tightly around my heart. With each passing breath… it hurts - so very badly. I-I- I need Yami." He blurted out and cuddled in his Grandpa's arms again.

"Oh Yugi, I'm so sorry… Look there are many secrets we don't know about the Millennium Rod, Yami must have remembered something about his past. I'll tell you what, I'll call Arthur Hawkins and you go get some sleep. Okay?" Yugi slowly nodded and rubbed his nose into his sleeve. He gradually got up and trudged upstairs.

Leaving the Rod behind. Without hesitation, Mr Muto picked it up and went straight to the phone. He quickly dialled Arthur's number and waited rather impatiently for his answer.

"Um, hello."

"Yes, hello Arthur, I'm sorry to disturb you but I have an emergency here. I need you to come over right away, it concerns an item." Mr Muto rose an eyebrow at his complete corporation.

"Yes, Rebecca is more than welcome to join you, good. I'll see you first thing in the morning." He put down the phone and grasped the Rod in his hand.

"Oh, Yami, please come home soon…he needs you." Mr Muto put down the item and went to check on Yugi.

Meanwhile, Yami's fate did not seem too bright either.

He lay in the shadows, quivering and shaking from lack of heat. The Shadow realm was not good for someone used to Egyptian warmth. In every direction, all he saw was dark caverns of pitch black. No comfort came from darkness, there was no light to be seen and he feared that light would never come again.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here…" Yami turned his head and stared in dismay as Bakura appeared before him. With his arm's crossed, he stared down and chuckled at Yami's pathetic form.

"He has you totally whipped." Yami clenched his chest, as his heart ached even more. The shier thought of his little beloved caused his heart to blister with flames of forbidden love. His eye's swelled with tears.

"T-t-that's not true." However Bakura cut in.

"Now, now. I've been watching you; he has you wrapped around his little finger; and it's pitiable. He smiles and you wobble at the knee's. He laughs and I can feel your heart pump with happiness; its enough to make you sick. He controls you…" Yami rolled from his back to his feet.

"No! Yugi doesn't control me; it's different… Besides, how have you been watching me?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Yami stared down to the floor, ignoring his response. Nothing would have pleased him more to look upon Yugi's face on more time. He softened his eyebrow's, as the image of Yugi's sleeping face appeared before him.

"Awww, having regrets already?" Yami scowled and began to walk away.

"We all do, when we're alone. But we don't have to be. Not anymore…" Yami spun round, ready to blow his head off. Only to find Bakura had taken his shirt off.

"Hey, put that back on right now!!" Bakura frowned sarcastically and turned back. Yami eyed him carefully, in case he tried anything. As he put it back on, he looked around in an aimless daze, as the threat decreased.

Suddenly, by accident he noticed a bulge in Bakura's trousers. Yami squirmed in disgusted and turned away.

Bakura smirked and walked toward him, wrapping his arm's around Yami's waist. Pulling him into his erection.

"Ah!! Get off of me!!!!! I don't want to know where got that!!! Even though I have a pretty good idea!!" Yami forced out of Bakura's vice grip and fell to the floor.

"Well; no and…yes. Don't get excited but you should know a few things about this place." Bakura smugly licked his lips. Yami's eye's widened and shook his head.

"No I don't!!!!!" He began to gradually crawl away. Bakura huffed and turned opposite him, there was something different about Bakura.

"Well; perhaps you should look at your hand." Yami narrowed his eye's and put up his hand.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm turning into a shadow!!!!" It was true, his hand was nothing but a swaying reflection of their surroundings

"Yes, that's right. The shadows feed on your soul until you become a mere shadow. The only way to stay in human form, is to-"

"No fucking way!!!! I'm not going to screw you to stay in human form!! I'm not going to need to be in human form!!!" Yami angrily folded his arms and walked away.

"And why is that? I thought you loved your little aibou. There may be a way to return to him, but do you want to turn up like a black deformed mess?" Bakura still poked that sensitive spot in his heart.

"I do love Yugi!! That's why I'm here…he doesn't feel the same way. I'm always bugging him about it, every time I try to talk to him about it, I can't ever bring myself to tell him. And now, I find out that he has a girlfriend…. Not that you'd care." Yami walked away again, this time with a aggravated expression on his stern face. He was almost out of sight, when Bakura shouted to him.

"Well, if you ever change your mind and want to return home…I'll be right here." He smirked and watched as the Pharaoh vanished into the darkness.

Yami kept walking forward, until he could see no more of that menacing manipulator. He rapidly collapsed to the floor and shivered instantly, once more. He rolled into a ball and peered down at his hand again. Another length of his finger's had turned black as the deep night.

He whipped his head round and saw no one. His face screwed up and shed tears, he couldn't go home - he had to face the inevitable. He was turning into a shadow and nothing could stop that. He could give in to Bakura and force himself to have sex with him, but he'd never betray Yugi that way. Even if he had to learn to move on.

And there he laid, no friends to ease his pain; and time was running thin for the mighty Pharaoh.

The moon shone high where the darkness dwelled, Yugi laid on his belly, staring out the window. He had stop crying now, however - as you can imagine, the pain remained. Yugi would stay up late and watch the moon. Think about all the things he could compare it with. Colours, good and evil etc.

However it was something different this night. The air seemed bitter for the present time of year and the wind seemed to creep into Yugi's room, even with the window shut. He felt the breeze of his face and shifted his weight to his back. Leaning his head right back, he stared at the moon again.

The different comparison he thought about was one of great importance in his life. It was also personal and very comforting, in his dark hours of being alone.

Tonight, Yugi thought of his beloved friend, of course - it was quite fitting, considering what had happened earlier. His eye's stared up at the moon and foresaw his own reflection. And in the darkness that surrounded his likeness, was Yami.

For a brief moment, he thought of it in a different manner. It was his heart that centred the darkness. He blushed as he remembered the sensation of Yami's warm breath upon his neck. He suddenly sat up and stared at nothing in particular.

His breath was short and winded.

He found himself questioning his sentiment's. If he were already attached, why was he thinking of a past moment - with someone different? He had been with Kristy for over a year, he had to keep it a secret from Yami. This was to avoid hurting his feelings, Yugi knew that Yami had a vast infatuation for him and attempted many times to express his feelings. And failed each time, that would be when Yugi felt relief and yet sad. Though he had never noticed it till now.

There would always be a feeling of doubt and tension between the two once his attempt failed. Yugi pounded it a moment longer, before his Grandpa entered.

"Yugi, you still awake my boy?" Yugi shifted round and sat on the end of his bed. His Grandpa walked in and sat next to Yugi, wrapping an arm around him.

Rocking them back and forth, "I'm glad you're feeling better." Yugi nodded, still sadly though.

"I've made that call and guess what? Rebecca is coming as well." Yugi groaned and rolled his eye's.

"I thought you liked Rebecca?" Yugi sighed and got up, walked over to the window, he stared at the moon again.

"She's all like, Yugi my love!" He mimicked sarcastically. Mr Muto chuckled and watched as his Grandson stared out the window again.

"Grandpa. Why is it that I'm not so sure about my feelings any more?" Mr Muto blinked with a blank face and joined him at the window.

"Well Yugi, I'm not sure myself. Perhaps because of the days events, you've turned your attention to Yami instead of Kristy all the time." Yugi's eye's widened.

"Do I really spent a lot of time with Kristy then?" His Grandpa replied with a nod. Yugi turned away and ran his hand's through his hair in an act of panic.

"That's it Grandpa, he left because I drove him away.." His voice returned to it's shaky state.

"No Yugi, it's not that… it's not." Yugi turned back and eyed him carefully.

"You know something, don't you?!" He launched forward and gripped his Grandpa by the shirt.

"Please tell me!!" His eye's pleaded with him. No words were needed for the pain he felt, thinking it were his own fault. He couldn't imagine how he would react if it were truly his own fault. However is Grandpa shook his head and refused to tell him of Yami's true intensions.

"All in due time Yugi - you'll be able to ask Yami yourself." He began to walk out the room, leaving Yugi to decide on his true feelings.

"Grandpa," Yugi called back as Mr Muto held onto the handle of his door, he could hear the softness in his tone once more. As if he were longing for it to return; and he had.

"I think I'm in love with him." Mr Muto neither looked back or replied, he simply nodded and left the room.