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Summary: Set a few months after Atemu (Yami) has left for the afterlife. Songfic based on Evanescence – Haunted. Before Atemu left he confessed to Yugi his true feelings but knew he had to leave. One shot.

Long lost words whisper slowly to me,

Yugi lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. He remembered so well what Atemu had said the night before he had had to leave for the afterlife.
"Don't forget me Yugi, I have never told you this but…I love you. Always have." He said hoping that Yugi didn't reject him. Though if he did, leaving would be easier though it pained him to think of it.
"Atemu." Yugi had breathed. "I feel the same way but never felt able to tell you. I was scared in case you left me but now I guess you're leaving anyway so I don't suppose it matters now."
"It matters to me Aibou." Atemu had said and put his arms round Yugi. As he was a spirit, Yugi could feel nothing but a slight chill on his bare arms and knew that nothing would have happened anyway, it was impossible but maybe one day they could have found a way…
"There would never have been a way for us to be together properly." Atemu had said sadly hearing Yugi's thoughts through the mind link and feeling his deep sorrow.
"I know." Yugi had said sadly.

Still can't find what keeps me here,

Yugi's thoughts turned to the future, what was the point? He would have to live his life through without the one person whom he had come to love above all others.
"Why am I still here?" he asked the walls but there was no reply. The silence in his head due to Atemu no longer sharing thoughts with him was almost deafening and a constant reminder to what he had lost.

When all this time I've been so hollow inside,

His soul felt incomplete now, there was a huge void where Atemu should have been but now there was nothing. He felt so hollow. He closed his eyes and with his mind he reached out desperate for something, anything to let him know that Atemu was still there with him.

(I know you're still there)

He thought perhaps he could feel a faint presence in his mind and it comforted him a little. Maybe Atemu was still there somewhere, maybe one day he would be able to reach him if he worked on it hard enough. He wanted to get closer but at the same time knowing that it was probably just his mind playing tricks on him. Atemu had told him not to linger on the past but to face the future and live his life to the full. Yugi had sobbed and begged Atemu not to leave but Atemu had promised that wherever he was he would be watching over him.

Watching me,
Wanting me
I can feel you pull me down

He needed to break free from this depression he knew. He had friends who cared a great deal about him, was he going to allow this to ruin his entire life by laying on his bed and pining for someone who was never coming back? Atemu hadn't wanted him to. He had wanted him to get out there and enjoy life.

Fearing you,
Loving you,
I won't let you pull me down

His resolve set he knew he would put Atemu behind him and get on with life now. He had been stuck in this depression since Atemu had gone and now he knew it was time to face the world again.

Hunting you I can smell you alive
Your heart pounding in my head

He closed his eyes again one last time to reach out to Atemu and let him know that he was going to be okay and that he would always love him but it was time to move on.
As he concentrated it was almost as if he could smell the exotic spices that screamed of Atemu's scent, hear his heartbeat but he knew it wasn't real. It couldn't be. There really was nothing left of him to feel. He didn't even have the puzzle any more it having been buried at the door to the afterlife along with the other Millennium Items.

Watching me,
Wanting me,
I can feel you pull me down.
Saving me,
Raping me,
Watching me.

"Thank you Atemu." He whispered to the night air and he knew for sure that Atemu had heard and understood that finally Yugi could stop his feelings from pulling him down into depression and face the future a new person. Thanks to Atemu, he was a much stronger person than he had been five years ago. He would always love him, always be grateful for the time he shared his body with the pharaoh but now? It was the first day of the rest of his life and he intended to make the most of it!

Watching me,
Wanting me
I can feel you pull me down.
Fearing you,
Loving you,
I won't let you pull me down.

Owari (End)