"Soul Mate"

Chapter One

"Talks of the Past"

Cherry: Oh my God! It's Cherry! She's updating a story!

Yugi: Well, when a writer's block hits, and jackhammers don't work, readers must be patient.

Yami: Says my forever understanding Aibou.

Cherry: Teehee! And now to answer all reviews.

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TaintedSyn: I'm glad you think that of my story. Thank you.

Dagger Maxwell: Yes, Yugi is adorable to a deadly level, isn't he?

Chibi: Can't tell you that!

rox: The only thing about Yugi that drives me batty is his lack of self-esteem. I hope I can change that about him.

Lady Rapidash: Thank you!

Red Dragon of Egypt: DON'T TELL YAMI THAT! I wanna keep him forever! NO!

SoulDreamer: Thank you!

Sapphire: You'll have to wait and see!

kenshinfan21: I hope you continue to think that my stories are interesting.

(Whatever your name is supposed to be): Honestly, I can't say I disagree with you about that.

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Yami: Charming, huh?

Cherry: NO!

Yugi: Oh, come on Yami. Let's give her a chance to be less insane.

Cherry: Yes! Listen to the cute one!

Yami: (grumbles) You're not the only one who's weak against Yugi's cuteness.

Yugi: (climbs into Yami's lap and cuddles him)

Cherry: Aww! So kawaii!

LINELINELINELINELINE

Yugi spent the remainder of his night wondering exactly how much of the past Yami remembered. He knew that since they'd gone through the Ceremonial Duel, Yami's desicion to stay with his friends, and gaining his own body, he must remember quite a bit more than he had previously, but he wondered if some of the less-vital-yet-still-extremely-important details had escaped him.

"Trouble sleeping Aibou?" Yami asked from across the bedroom they shared.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I hope I didn't wake you," Yugi said.

"You didn't. I never fell asleep." Yami sounded thoughtful about something.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Yugi quipped.

"Do you always have nightmares of ancient Egypt Aibou?" Yami asked, startling the petite teenager.

"How do you know I'm even dreaming of Ancient Egypt?" he asked defensively.

"Because you talk in your sleep Aibou, and you kept saying, 'Don't die Pharaoh Yami!'"

Yugi blushed hard enough that Yami saw him across the room in the dark and smiled. He always got such a kick out of making his hikari blush like that. Probably because Yugi was so beautiful when his face was flushed red.

Then again, Yugi was beautiful no matter what the circumstances were.

While these and other, rated-higher-than-R thoughts floated through the former Pharaoh's mind, Yugi was doing some thinking of his own. Suddenly, he spoke up, "Yami, how much of your pst do you remember?"

Shaken from his (rather good) fantasy, Yami ran through his memories, then answered, "I'm pretty sure I remember it all Aibou."

"Do you remember if you had a lover back then?" Yugi asked, his voice full of feigned innocence.

Yami was taken aback. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

Yami didn't believe that for a moment, but he knew better than to press for information. The last time he had tried to make Yugi tell him something that the shorter teen didn't want him to know, Yugi had completely closed in on himself, not responding to the outside world at all and scaring the Egyptian teen shitless. He thought hard.

"I'm not sure. I don't think I did. I don't seem to remember feeling love for anyone other than my family and closest friends," he answered honestly.

"I see." #He doesn't remember then. I thought not. Then, where are these images coming from?#

"Aibou? Why the sudden interest in my past love life?"

"I was just wondering," Yugi said too quickly. #Shit.#

"What's the real reason? And Aibou, please, this time, don't do that shutting down completely trick you do. Just answer me."

Yugi still hesitated. Finally, after a lengthy pause, he said, "Because there's someone I lo-like, and I thought that hearing about your love life might give me an idea about what to do without asking you directly for advice."

Pain and jealousy raced through Yami like quicksilver, but he supressed it. "Why not ask me for advice?"

"Too shy."

Yami forced a smile and came over to his hikari's bed. "You don't ever have to feel shy about asking me about anything. You do know that, right? I'm here for you, always and forever."

Yugi smiled at his dear friend and hugged him. If only for a moment, he could pretend that Yami was comforting him not as a friend or guardian, but as a lover.

Yugi held moments like this dear to his heart.

And so did Yami.

LINELINELINELINELINE

Yugi: You've got me lying through my teeth to Yami! I never do that!

Cherry: Reread that. You weren't lying. You do love someone, and hearing about Yami's past would have told you what to do, how to handle it. You merely ommitted the named of your beloved.

Yami: You know, considering how long you've been gone, this is a pretty piss-poor update. It's so short.

Cherry: Sweet moment between you and Yugi. I tried to continue, but the chapter finished itself right there!

Yugi: Well, make the next chapter longer and sooner, and we'll overlook it.

Cherry: And so I shall!