You know what the worst thing about the holidays is? When it ends.

School starts in a few days, and with my exams coming up soon, I'm starting to panic. Which means that I may not be able to update as regularly as I want to.

But I've managed to scrap together some free time together to write this next chapter. You remember when I said "expect the unexpected"? Yeah, well, you might want to keep that in mind. And you might not like this chapter so much…

Btw, soon after I posted that last chapter, I decided to rewrite it. I know a few of you have read the new version, but if you haven't please do. I still think I let Yugi forgive Yami a little too quickly, but this version is better than the first.

Anyway, as always I want to thank these wonderful reviewers:

Bunny, Natoya, Princess Yali, Yami Kkwy, kingleby, Masami Mistress of Fire, GerardYuroshi, Vanya-Deyja, Darkyami7, DMHPluv, Daikaio, Harper-Le-Beau, unseenwater, spidy007, HikariAngel, Yana5

Thank you so much guys!

/Yami to Yugi through the mind link/

/Yugi to Yami in the mind link/

'Thoughts'

"Speaking"

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters. I wouldn't be writing this if I did.

-I-

Rekindled Love

Chapter 6: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

-I-

Yugi moaned like a small child as he felt the early Sunday morning sun shine on his closed eye lids. As his amethyst eyes slowly flickered open, he found himself looking face to face with the soft back of his sofa.

Giving a small groan, he sat himself up. Rubbing the remaining sleep away from his eyes, he yawned, before stretching his aching body. He gazed around the living room.

He hadn't even realised he had fallen asleep on the sofa. The events of last night all seemed like a blur. All he could clearly remember was Anzu's shouting, the slamming of the front door, and Yami's soothing voice.

He became aware of something uncomfortable under his thigh. Reaching down, he pulled out his phone. "1 Missed Call" flashed on the screen. Yugi pressed the various buttons required until he was able to see who had called him.

"Yami?" he questioned when he saw Yami's mobile number. "Why did he call me?"

But then it came to him. Yami must have been worried. After all, Anzu had walked out on him when they were due to marry in a few months. And all because she had thought Yugi was having an affair with another woman. No matter how many times Yugi tried to convince her otherwise, she wouldn't listen. Once she got an idea in her head nothing could make her change her mind.

Yugi vaguely remembered the argument, and that he had called Yami soon afterwards. He remembered Yami asking if Yugi wanted him to come round, to which Yugi had answered "no". Even though they had just started talking to each other again, it would be too awkward for Yami to come round and comfort him. Who knew what he would try.

Instead, Yugi had asked to just talk to Yami over the phone. And Yami had agreed. He had talked to Yugi about his travels, telling him amazing stories of the all the places he'd been and funny stories about all the bosses he had had over the years, to which Yugi found himself giving a few smiles and the occasional laugh. They had continued to talk, Yugi guessed, until he had fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning. He remembered glancing at his watch at 12:29am, so he guessed he had drifted off about 1am.

"Yami was probably just checking up on me," Yugi mused. "He does tend to worry about me." He found himself giving a small smile at the thought of Yami worrying over him, just like he used to in the old days.

Not wanting Yami to worry over nothing, Yugi decided to call him back. But just as he was about to call, he heard a soft knock at the door.

Yugi looked up. He wasn't expecting any visitors today. And Jonouchi and Honda didn't know anything about the argument…unless Anzu had run crying to them and told them she thought Yugi was having an affair.

Yugi swallowed at the thought of Jonouchi and Honda waiting to knock some sense into him. They could be pretty persuasive when they had to be.

The person at the door knocked again.

"Coming!" Yugi called, slipping off the sofa. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and made his way to the door, stretching the last few aches out of his body. Spending the night curled up on a sofa was not the most comfortable thing in the world.

As he turned out into the hallway, he quickly tidied his hair as best he could. Though he soon found it was a losing battle with his wild hair. He put his hand on the door handle and opened the front door.

He couldn't help but gasp when he saw who his visitor was.

-I-

Yami's body felt refreshed as he stepped out of the shower, wrapping a soft white towel around his body. He stepped over to the mirror, rubbing the condensation away, and looked at his reflection. He sighed. Dark rings could still be seen under his crimson eyes due from his lack of sleep the previous night.

He walked out of the hotel bathroom and straight to his bedside table. He quickly picked up his mobile phone. He felt his heart drop when he saw Yugi still hadn't called back. Dropping his phone on his bed, he proceeded in getting dressed.

As he dressed, his thoughts remained on one thing: Yugi. He had been worrying about his former partner all night. After Yugi had called him and told Yami of what Anzu did, Yami had had to fight the urge to rush to the Kame Game Shop and embrace Yugi, and whisper sweet nothings into his ear whilst he comforted his love. But he had (just) managed to fight that urge, and did what Yugi wanted him to do. He and Yugi had "just talked" until almost 2am, when Yugi fell asleep on the other end of the line. Yami heard his soft breathing and had decided to hang up so as not to increase Yugi's phone bill.

Yami slipped on his dark jeans and pulled on his T-shirt. After Yugi had hung up, Yami had tried his best to fall asleep. But he found he had been worrying about Yugi too much. He couldn't stop thinking about him. All he could think about was whether or not he was alright. So, instead of calling Yugi at 3am, he had waited until a more reasonable time such as 9am, to call Yugi to make sure he was OK. Unfortunately for him, Yugi didn't answer. Yami had guessed he was still asleep.

"I hope I didn't bore him with my stories," Yami thought out loud, remembering he had been explaining to Yugi his travels around the world just before Yugi had nodded off.

Yami had tried calling Yugi again half an hour later, but still Yugi did not pick up, so Yami had left a message. He had then waited for a while, before deciding to take a shower to take his mind off of things. It was now 10:35am, and Yugi still hadn't called.

Yami slipped his half of the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, before picking up the phone to see if his phone had rung without him noticing. It hadn't. He dropped the phone on his bed in disappointment and walked over to the balcony. Opening the glass doors, he stepped outside and leaned on the railings, looking over Domino City.

'I hope Yugi is OK,' Yami wondered. 'He did sound pretty upset last night. I hope I was able to cheer him up. But I wish he'd call me and let me know how he wa-'

RING RING

Yami jumped at the sound of his ring tone. Bolting from the balcony, he rushed to his bed, tripping over his various belongings on the floor. After quickly dusting himself off, he jumped on his bed and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he said urgently.

"Yami?" came a voice in a loud whisper. "It's me."

"Yugi?" Yami asked for confirmation.

"Yes," came Yugi's reply. Yami felt himself smile. "Sorry it took me so long to call you back. Something…happened this morning."

"Don't worry about it, Yugi," Yami reassured. He sat up. "I'm just glad you finally did. Are you OK?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Then why are you whispering?"

"That's what I'm calling about." Something crept into Yugi's voice that Yami couldn't quite place. It was either excitement, or slight disappointment. "Oh Yami! You'll never believe what happened!"

"What?" Yami asked warily, his smile fading. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Anzu came back."

Yami tried his best not to pass out. "…What?"

"Anzu came back," Yugi repeated. "She turned up on the doorstep this morning since she forgot her keys after running out last night."

"O-Oh. What did she say?" Yami felt his heart sink.

"She said she was sorry and that she over reacted last night. She said she shouldn't have doubted me like that, and that she trusts me."

"So…what does that mean?"

"It means that the wedding is still on! Isn't…Isn't that great?"

"Y-Yeah. Great…" Even though Yugi couldn't see, Yami put on a fake smile. "Congratulations Yugi."

"T-Thanks."

Yami blinked. Was that doubt he could hear?

"But you didn't answer my question," he said, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. "Why are you whispering?"

"Because Anzu is upstairs at the moment and doesn't know I'm talking to you. I still haven't told her."

Yami found this surprising. "But why not?"

"Yami," Yugi sighed, "I just got Anzu back. I don't want to risk it. Besides, there's never been the right moment to tell her."

'Will there ever be a right moment to tell your fiancée that your first love is back in town?' "Alright Yugi. I trust you. As long as you know what you're doing."

"Don't worry. I do!" There was a small pause. "Listen Yami, Anzu's going to come down in a minute, so I have to go soon. But before I do, I just wanted to say thank you for last night."

"Yugi, you don't have to thank me. I was more than happy to help."

"But I do! And I want to pay you back too. Erm…How about I treat you to lunch tomorrow? I don't have to work in the afternoons this week as far as I know, so we can meet at any time after 1 o'clock. What do you say?"

"I don't know Yugi…" Yami hesitated. If Yugi was truly back with Anzu, there was no chance for him and Yugi to get back together. But he couldn't shake off the feeling that Yugi was doubting his marriage-to-be in some way.

"Oh come on Yami! I want to treat you to lunch. To thank you. Just because I'm back with Anzu doesn't mean we can't try and rebuild our friendship. Please?"

"Well, if you're sure…"

"I'm definitely sure. 100 percent. So what do you say?"

Yami thought for a moment, before making up his mind. After all, how many more opportunities like this were likely to come his way?

'None.'

"Alright Yugi," he said cheerfully. "You can treat me to lunch. Meet at the usual place at the usual time?"

"Sure. Sounds great! But I've really got to go now. See you tomorrow and thanks again!"

"No problem."

Yugi hung up. Yami sat frozen for a moment, before falling back onto his pillows with a sigh.

How could this have happened? He thought Anzu and Yugi had broken up. For good. As in never getting back together. That's what usually happens when someone thought their partner was having an affair, right?

Apparently not, in this case.

Yami picked up one of the pillows and covered his face. This was not what he wanted. What he wanted, was for Yugi and Anzu to break up so Yami could comfort Yugi and win his heart back. But unfortunately, that plan had crashed and burned.

A pang of guilt rushed through his body. 'I can't think like that. That's not what Yugi wants…as far as I know. If he's happy with Anzu, than I'm happy for him. Yeah. That's right! If Yugi's happy, I'm happy.' He tried to hold back the single tear that prickled in his eye. 'So, why don't I feel happy?'

RING RING

Yami bolted upright. He looked down at his ringing phone. Could it be Yugi, saying he didn't want to go through the wedding because he truly did still love Yami?

"I wish…" Yami sighed.

He picked up the phone and groaned when he saw the called ID. He pressed the "answer" button and held the phone up to his ear.

"What?" he asked, irritated.

"So," came Bakura's teasing voice. "I see all is not well in the land of the Pharaoh."

"What you do want?"

"I called to check on how miserable you are. After all, Yugi is back together with Anzu, right?"

Yami faltered for a second. "How did you know about that?"

"Word travels fast," Bakura stated with a bored sigh. He added, "And Ryou and I saw her running to her parents house last night."

"But how did you know they're back together?" Yami asked urgently.

"You know Ryou. Has to be the good Samaritan. He went to check on Yugi this morning and saw Anzu on the doorstep." Bakura gave a small growl. "Why does he always have to be so bloody kind!"

"But I thought that's what you liked about your lover," Yami teased, a smirk on his face. He stood up and walked to the balcony, leaning on the doorway. "That and the way he touches you…"

"Wha-" Yami heard Bakura fall in the background. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT!"

"You told me."

"I NEVER!"

"You did. When we "bumped" into each other back in Egypt."

"I did NOT tell you about that!"

"You did. I remember it very clearly. It's amazing how much you say when you're drunk…"

Yami held the phone away from his ear as Bakura shouted some extremely colourful words down the phone extremely loudly. When the shouting had died down, Yami slowly brought the phone back to his ear.

"You're going to pay for that, pharaoh," Bakura spat.

"Really?" Yami asked, amused. "And how do you intend on doing that when I leave in a week?"

"Oh I know exactly how." Bakura gave a chuckle. "After all, I did call to help you get back together with Yugi. But now I'm not so sure…"

Yami almost dropped his phone. "W-What? Y-You'll help me?"

"I'm not sure now-"

"I take it all back!" Yami said quickly. "Every word! I won't tell anyone what you said!"

Bakura gave an amused laugh. "That's better. Now, about your little problem. Judging by your reaction earlier, I'd say the rumours are true and Yugi and Anzu are back together, right?"

"Yes," Yami answered sadly.

"Well then, there's only one thing to do."

"And what's that?" Yami asked cautiously.

"Kidnap him of course."

Now it was Yami's turn to fall over in shock. "WHAT!"

"Like I said, kidnap him. Steal him away from Anzu and keep him locked up until he falls madly in love with you."

"Are you STUPID? I can't do that!"

"And why not?" Bakura asked, a little hurt that the pharaoh did not approve of his plan. "It's either that or force yourself onto him."

"I can't do that either!" Yami shouted. "I don't want to hurt Yugi again! I would never do anything that would hurt him in any way. Got that!"

"OK, OK. I get it. Yeesh! There's just no pleasing some people."

"No, you're ideas are just really, really stupid."

"I was only trying to help. Ryou's always telling me to be "nicer" to people."

"Well remind me not to go to you for help. Goodbye!"

And with that, Yami hung up. After staring angrily at the phone, he sighed sadly and looked out at the city.

What could he do? He desperately wanted Yugi back. But he didn't want to ruin Yugi's happiness. He had already caused him too much pain. And Yugi seemed happy enough with Anzu.

So why couldn't he shake off the feeling that this wasn't right? He was sure Yugi sounded doubtful about marrying Anzu when they were on the phone. And it was Yugi that had insisted on going out to lunch tomorrow, not Yami. That had to mean something, didn't it?

And what about the fact that Yugi still hadn't told Anzu about Yami's return? What did that mean?

Yami sighed. He only had a# week left in Domino before he had to return to Egypt, back to his job and his horrible boss. But he didn't want to leave. He couldn't. Not when things between him and Yugi were just starting to look up. Not when his love towards his other half had increased dramatically in only a few days. And not when he didn't know how Yugi truly feels towards him.

But with only a week left, what could he do?

-I-

:Gulps when she sees readers staring angrily at her: P-Please don't kill me! I did warn you there would be twists and turns throughout this, didn't I:dodges rotten fruit thrown at her: I promise things will get better! But if you kill me, that will never happen:looks up when fruit throwing stops, and sighs in relief:

Anyway, I hate chapters like these. They're just so boring (compared to what I have planned next ).

Btw, you know that "steamy" chapter I was talking about before? Yeah, it's coming up in a couple of chapters (though, now that I think about it, it's not actually that steamy Oo ).

Please R&R. I love reading all your comments. Just please don't kill me:holds out her one and only Yugi plushie as a bribe: