Sometimes the fog still clouded his mind, and the world around him. Sometimes, he yearned to shut down, to lose the ability to speak and block out his surroundings when it all got too much. But he was getting better…gradually, he was getting better.

The fresh start was going to be a good one, Malik just knew it. The last few years had been hard, but he was on the right track now, and Domino had always been the place in his heart. Egypt harboured too many traumatic memories, and Japan wasn't much better, but the latter had been where he'd started to piece his life together…

…That is, until the confusion.

He'd blamed Ryou and Yugi at first, ever the type to deny his own involvement, barely able to regulate his mental health without his dark side to do it for him. But that was then, and this was now, and Malik wasn't going to let the past get to him anymore. He'd gotten Isis and Rishid's blessings, packed up what little he owned, and bought a one-way plane ticket to Tokyo before hiring a car and speeding towards Domino.

Now, he was curled up in a comfortable armchair, half-asleep, simply enjoying his existence. Never had he felt so at peace with the world.

"Malik…it's okay to go to bed if you're tired," came a soft, polite voice from somewhere just above Malik's head, and he glanced up with an amused smile. Ryou hovered over him, his ever-present mug of hot tea in his hands. Ryou had happily opened his home to Malik for as long as he needed it. He would find his own place eventually, but there really was no rush as far as either of them were concerned.

Malik pushed himself a little more upright. "Sorry, Ryou," he laughed. "Just…damn, this chair is comfy."

"It is, isn't it?" Ryou echoed Malik's laugh as he settled down on the nearby sofa, cradling his mug to his chest. "Kek's pretty much claimed that chair as his own by now, so count yourself lucky he's at work. Really, though, don't worry about the hour. You must still be pretty jet-lagged. Please don't stay up on my account."

Ryou had barely changed at all in the seven years since the Ceremonial Duel, ever the sweet, polite, unashamed gaming nerd. His face was sharper now, more angular, but his tumbling white mane of hair, plump cheeks, and twinkling brown eyes ever lingered, casting a soft, delicate youthfulness across his deceptive twenty-five years.

"I'm fine, honestly," Malik insisted.

"Would some caffeine perk you up a bit?"

"You bet."

Ryou smiled gently. "I'll make you another coffee."

"Thanks, honey."

Ryou hopped up from the sofa, disappearing into the kitchen and returning a few minutes later with a large mug of black coffee. "So," he said as he passed the mug to Malik, "how do you feel about…you know…being back around all of us now? I know it was really hard for you."

Malik shook his head. "It wasn't your fault," he replied. "None of us expected the Cube to react with your Ouija board, and it wasn't like you were attempting to yank anybody out of the afterlife, so…"

"I think we all got the shock of our lives that day, huh?"

"You can say that again."

"Look, Malik…I know it wasn't all down to us, but…" Ryou sighed sadly. "I'm so, so, sorry. I never imagined that this would happen, and when I heard you'd checked yourself into a psych facility afterwards, I just couldn't stop worrying about you. Yugi was pretty much the same. We were absolute wrecks."

"It's okay, honey…Ryou, it's okay, really." Malik put his mug down and hopped off the sofa and into Ryou's lap. They were intimate enough as friends that they cared little for personal space, and Ryou welcomed the gesture by burying his head against Malik's shoulder and holding his hips gently. "You have to remember," Malik said, "that my fucked-up mental health was a problem long before any of this happened. None of this was your fault, okay?"

Ryou gazed up at Malik. "I wish I could take it all back," he whispered. "Take it all back, like it never happened, so I never had to see you in that much pain ever again."

"Don't be silly. You and Kek love each other. You'd honestly toss him back to the Shadows, just so I wouldn't freak out?"

"Well, no, but I – "

"Ryou…stop." Malik kissed Ryou's brow. "Look, there are ups and downs to everything. I went a bit crazy, but you got a great boyfriend out of all this, and Yugi's got his best friend back, so it worked out pretty well."

"You're forgetting about Bakura."

Malik paused, frowning. He slid off Ryou's lap and back into his armchair, sipping his coffee. He hadn't forgotten Bakura, but broaching the subject of his former partner in crime was something he had been struggling with ever since Kek told him about his condition. Kek had dropped Malik's phone number off at Bakura's place the day Malik arrived in Domino, but nobody had heard anything from him…not that Malik had expected much. He knew Bakura, knew his pride and his stubbornness. There was no way he was going to own up to wanting to see his old friend again.