It has occurred to me that in all the time and work and writer's block that's been going on ever since I started this fic, way way way way WAY long ago, I've completely forgotten a teeny-weeny, itty-bitty, little tiny detail:

I can't write pairings. At all.

So, in the spirit of that, I present to you: TOTAL AND UTTER CRAP!

You have been warned.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Claimer: I own the stuff I invented

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…

There were many ways for Yugi to take this information, most of them bad.

Yugi's face became impassive as the boy thought about this stunning revelation. Well, at least he wasn't in some sort of flat-out denial…Yami resisted the urge to use their newfound connection to see what Yugi was thinking. It was probably hard enough to think about this without someone else listening in…

Yugi was confused and trying very hard not to show it: it felt like he was succeeding. When looked at as carefully as possible, the facts seemed to fit. On some impossibly deep level, deep enough that neither Yami nor Yugi had been aware that the level even existed, every single thread that had bound their original soul together had never been cleanly cut. On this incredibly deep level, Yugi and Yami were still the exact same person in every way that truly mattered.

Yugi had spent the first part of his life disconnected from some of the things that made people behave in ways that could be aggressive, ambitious, and display a powerful hunger for growth - very basic requirements in any functional human being - because those were the parts that Yami had retained when he had accepted the demonic energies. The pieces that let functional human beings function despite the world's basic indifference towards life - things like empathy, compassion, and an innate understanding of what one should find truly precious - were what Yami had chosen to shed.

After Yami's release into the modern world, those pieces had called to each other, yearning to be drawn back together even though such a fusion was no longer possible. The Millennium Puzzle bridged that gap now…it made sense, but thinking about it gave Yugi a headache.

Plus there was the wonderful added bonus of complications that no one could have EVER anticipated…

Yami blinked. Yugi was looking down now, looking at…ah, the corded rope that was tied around his left wrist. Yami looked down at his own left hand, at the other end of the rope. Symbolism could be pretty scary…

Yugi seemed to nod to himself. Okay, he didn't look like he was taking it badly, but…that didn't necessarily mean he was taking it well, either…

"Are you angry with me?" Yami asked, unable to take the suspense of waiting any longer.

Yugi blinked, slightly surprised by the question.

"Angry for what?"

For what?

"…Everything?" Yami offered, uncertain how else to narrow it down.

Much to his surprise, Yugi nodded, then said, "Not really. This does explain some things…

"Yami, is this why that demon guy was after me?"

"Ah…" Yami hadn't really considered the possibility that Yugi would be curious - that was stupid, naturally, if Yami was the one that was being hunted, HE certainly would want to know why…oh, right.

"I guess not," Yugi said next, answering his own question, "He didn't even know you were around for a while, didn't he? I guess there must be some other reason. Do you know what that is, Yami?"

When Yami hesitated in answering, Yugi drew upon a fraction of his newly forming temper and stated, "I know you know, Yami. And if people are going to be coming after me and wrecking cities in order to get their hands on it, I think I deserve to know!"

"And I never said I wouldn't tell you," Yami replied, feeling amused despite himself, "I only recently determined the answer myself. From what I have seen, you happen to possess a very rare and very powerful talent."

Yami gave Yugi the short version on Amplification: why it was so rare, why it was so powerful, and why it was so dangerous. The shred of Yugi's necklace, which by some freakish miracle had not been lost since Yami had first picked it up, provided an excellent and non-traumatizing example of what happened when you over-amplified something. Yami tried to ignore the look that briefly crossed Yugi's features, the one that suggested that Yugi had made the mental transition from something to someone.

"Do you have this magnification power thing, Yami?" Yugi asked.

"If I did before, I never noticed," Yami shrugged, "And I certainly don't have it now."

Yami's gaze strayed to the Millennium Puzzle, the vestiges of a tantalizing idea beginning to brew.

"I think I must have, at one point," Yami mused aloud, "I doubt the Puzzle would have allowed me to possess it otherwise…"

"Can you explain that in non-freaky-magic-lingo-ese, please?"

Yami glared at the other. He meant it to be mild, but maybe it was too mild - Yugi actually looked amused. Yami suddenly felt a completely unnatural urge to - Yami blinked in consternation. He actually wanted to pout. His brain must have finished melting into idiotic goo during the trip between the Hellpit and this alley. Yami sighed.

"Do you recall what I said about the origins of the Puzzle?"

"I do," Yugi said, "You said it was those Guardians of…Night, right?"

"Guardians of the Twelve Hours of Night," Yami corrected.

"And I think you mentioned that they had other magical artifacts than the Puzzle," Yugi added, "Like the staff-thing that…"

Yugi trailed off, evidently aware that Seto was a sore topic.

"The Millennium Rod," Yami agreed, focusing his thoughts on the subject at hand, "There were seven objects in total, each with its own unique ability. From what I learned of them, the Puzzle's ability is also a form of Amplification."

"I see," Yugi said, nodding to himself, "From what you said, it sounds like this Puzzle is probably one of the most powerful of those objects."

"It was said that the leader of the seven Guardians wielded the Puzzle," Yami continued, thinking back on the few scraps of legend he had been able to learn on the subject, "The only specific thing I ever heard was that with the leader's support, the other guardians were able to master two hours of night each instead of only one."

"…Which I'm sure is really something," Yugi said wryly.

Yami dropped the subject - it took a lot of experience in magic to understand the significance, anyway. Instead, the mage-demon began untying the rope on his wrist.

"I forgot that was there," Yugi said, seeing what Yami was doing and starting to untie his own arm.

Once both ends were untied, Yami eyed the rope, then the loop on the Puzzle, then the rope again. Feeling Yugi's gaze turning curiouser and curiouser, Yami tied the ends of the rope around the metal loop. It was now just long enough…

Yugi's eyes went wide as, without saying a word, Yami hung the Millennium Puzzle around the smaller boy's neck.

"…It will be easier to keep track of this way," Yami protested as Yugi's surprised look turned to one of annoyance.

"You couldn't have at least asked me first?" Yugi said.

Even though Yugi sounded as annoyed as he looked, the boy was already adjusting the rope so that the Puzzle was hanging straight. Yami felt a sudden, very familiar, but very unwelcome pang. The connection the Millennium Puzzle had wrought had cleared up the worst of the strange needy longing, but even from outside the lens of obsession, Yugi was still very maddeningly attractive.

'Oh great,' Yami thought to himself, 'Instead of feeling strange things, now I get to feel unnatural things.'

'…Stupid narcissism…'

…Yami frowned to himself.

'What's narcissism?'

He certainly didn't know that word…Yami felt shock roll through him, though it wasn't all his. Yugi's eyes had gone wide.

'That was his thought?' Yami thought.

Well, it looked like there was more to this mental connection than either of them had expected. They could hear each other's thoughts now?

This was so shocking that it took the real surprise another minute to penetrate Yami's consciousness: the REASON their thoughts had been almost undistinguishable…the same sort of emotional overlay…and even the same…strange……longing…?

Yugi abruptly began studying the ground with unbelievable fascination, his face red and growing redder every second. Yami, for his part, suddenly realized that the wall in the completely opposite direction was quite strange and mysterious and needed careful study RIGHT NOW. A rising heat in his own features suggested that he, too, was blushing.

There was a minute of poignant silence. Then…

'Ah…so much for that…one-sided thing…'

This thought was clearly in Yugi's voice. Now that they were actually paying attention, their thoughts clearly sounded different, despite being about almost the exact same thing.

'…Suppose so…'

Yami didn't feel he could trust himself to say/think anything more. Besides, that one brick in the wall over there was quite interesting. It was very important that he memorize what it looked like as soon as possible -

'Maybe we can still make this work.'

Yugi's thought was surprisingly confident. It was surprising enough that Yami even managed to leave off his investigation into that one brick and look back at Yugi. The mortal was still blushing, but he was admirably trying to focus.

"…I mean, you were the one that said it before," Yugi said aloud, "We're 'almost' the same person. If we used to be doesn't matter right now. But 'almost' doesn't mean we are. …Does that make sense?"

…After a long, LONG pause, Yami felt himself nodding. It DID make sense, somehow…somewhere inside him, Yami had no doubts, that fucking bloody pang was throwing a damn victory party -

A harsh screech from overhead broke the mood instantly. A shadow passed over the alley, and Yugi and Yami looked up just in time to see the lean shape of a gargoyle pass by. The sky was brighter than it had been before their entry into Hauru's lair, but still more than dark enough for monsters to roam free in the city.

Duty called…

…