Summary: Magic, cuddles, and soft, sweet first kisses.

"A-Atem?" Yugi gasped as Atem stumbled into the apartment, a disoriented Mana in tow.

"I'll explain in a minute," Atem muttered – Mana had gone chalk-white and clapped a hand over her mouth. He hurried her into the bathroom just in time while Yugi frantically phoned Ryou to get him home.

Ryou, having only been one floor below them at Malik and Bakura's apartment, burst through the door minutes later, by which time Atem had cleaned Mana up, settled her on the sofa, and was dabbing at her brow with a flannel. Her face had regained only a touch of colour on her cheeks, eyes shining oddly bright and glassy; Ryou took one look at her and ran off to his bedroom, murmuring about needing to grab a few things.

"Oh, I'm so tired…" Mana whispered, head on Atem's shoulder.

"Try and stay awake a little longer, okay?" Atem stroked her hair gently.

"Mm-hm…"

Ryou returned at that moment, a book in hand and a few vials of unknown substances balancing on top of it. "Hi, Mana," he smiled as he sat beside her, "I'm Ryou. Could you tell me what happened, please?"

Mana cracked open an eye, glanced briefly at Ryou, then closed it again. "I…"

"I told her everything." Atem finished the barely begun sentence for her. Ryou immediately nodded in understanding. "She's been vomiting for hours now, and her headaches are becoming unbearable. Is that about right, Mana?"

"Mm," came the muffled reply from somewhere within Atem's shoulder.

"Oh, that does sound rough," Ryou sighed. "I think I have just the thing for you, Mana. It should help to ease your sickness and take the edge off these returning memories, okay?"

"Is it safe?" Mana's voice quavered with uncertainty.

"Perfectly so," Ryou assured her. With one hand he flipped a few pages of his book, tongue between his teeth as he felt for Mana's pulse in her wrist with his other hand. After a few moments, he looked up at Yugi, hovering shyly by the door. "Yugi, love, could you please bring the jar of aloe gel from the vanity table in our room?"

"Sure thing." Yugi disappeared off, seemingly grateful to have something to do to help.

"Any allergies, Mana?" Ryou asked.

"Hm? Um, not that I know of…"

Yugi returned with the jar of clear gel, and Ryou took it from him with a soft word of thanks. He dabbed a little onto the back of his hand before opening one of the vials he'd brought with him; Atem's nostrils twitched at the invigorating scent of peppermint oil. A drop of oil went into the gel on Ryou's hand, then he swirled them together and applied a gentle dab onto Mana's temples and wrists. "I often find peppermint works wonders for alleviating nausea," Ryou explained. "Feeling alright? Do you want anything?"

Mana shook her head. "I'm okay, thank you."

"Wonderful. Now, may I place my hands either side of your head?"

Mana looked confused, but she nodded, reaching out to twine her fingers with Atem's as Ryou leaned forward and carefully placed his hands, fingers spread wide, over her ears, cradling her head gently. Atem squeezed her hand in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture.

A light tingling sensation began to fizzle in the air, a tickle on Atem's skin. It wasn't unpleasant, but he couldn't suppress the instinctive shiver as the feeling buzzed through him like a swarm of bees. Mana pursed her lips, her eyes never leaving Ryou's as he whispered words under his breath in a language long-dead.

"Okay…I'm finished." Ryou drew back and rubbed his hands together a few times. "I should imagine you won't get such a headache now when something comes back to you."

Mana touched the centre of her brow, mouth slightly open. "I don't…how…?"

"I know this must be confusing for you." Ryou patted her knee sympathetically. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, or you can go back home, whatever makes you most comfortable."

"Atem?" Mana glanced up at Atem for guidance.

"Whatever you wish," he replied softly. His eyes flicked over to Ryou. "Thank you."

"What are friends for, hm?" Ryou beamed. "Now, I believe it is time I made some tea."

As Ryou hopped up off the sofa, Mana nestled into Atem with a content sigh. "You have amazing people around you, Atem."

Atem's fingers ran through Mana's hair, down the side of her face, finishing with a tender caress of her cheek. "Those might just be the truest words I have ever heard."

"How do you feel now?"

Atem and Mana sat opposite each other on Atem's bed, playing chess, Atem the black, Mana the white. After a brief respite following Ryou's spell, Mana opted to remain at the apartment for the night, rather than go back home. She had taken a shower, and Atem gave her an old t-shirt to wear; she looked exhausted, but much clearer-headed as she pushed her chess pieces across the board.

"Still not 100%, but a lot better than this morning, that's for sure," she replied. "Whatever your friend did…"

"Remarkable, isn't he?" Atem surveyed the board a moment, then picked up one of his knights and moved it to capture Mana's remaining rook.

"That's for sure. But…Atem…" Mana folded her hands in her lap. "I…don't really know how to process all this. Suddenly I have all these memories flooding back, and now I know that I wasn't just going crazy, but…"

"I know," he said softly. "Nobody is expecting you to come to terms with any of it just yet. Give it time."

"It…sure explains why you always felt so familiar to me, though, doesn't it?"

"I imagine it does, yes."

"It's all so surreal," Mana giggled, a slight tremble in her tone. "Just a few weeks ago I was just that girl on the train, and now I'm, what? The reincarnation of a priestess from Ancient Egypt, friend of the prince turned Pharaoh!"

"Prince turned Pharaoh turned modern-day game nerd," Atem grinned. "The gods somehow saw fit to reunite you and I in this life. Regardless of their reasoning, I am grateful."

"Yeah…me too." Mana leaned back and yawned widely. "Mind if we finish this up tomorrow?"

"Of course."

The chess board was carefully picked up and settled atop Atem's desk, and Atem poked around in a chest of drawers till he found something he could wear to sleep. "You take my bed," he said to Mana, still sat atop the mattress and rubbing her eyes. "I'll be on the sofa, but come and get me if you need anything, alright?"

"I don't want you to have to sleep on the sofa!" Mana looked aghast. "You should sleep in your own bed."

"You are a guest here, Mana. It's only polite that every comfort is afforded you."

"I wouldn't…I just wouldn't feel right, knowing that…so you could stay here, maybe?"

Atem's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in his shock. "T-That's – " he spluttered, "that wouldn't be appropriate!"

"Oh, hush," Mana teased, sticking out her tongue. "Don't you remember the night we fell asleep on my sofa?"

She hopped off the bed, rubbed her head a moment with a grimace, then approached Atem with her arms held out. Atem stood frozen, unable to do anything but watch her, but when she touched him, it was only to rest her hands on his upper arms. "This should be no different. Do I make you nervous?"

Atem just about found his tongue to reply. "I-I…no, I'm just, well…not very good with social etiquette, I suppose. Mana, I – "

"You don't have to worry about that stuff around me, Atem." Mana sighed and leaned her head forwards to rest on Atem's collarbone. "Listen…can I tell you something that's been on my mind since earlier today?"

"By all means."

Now it was Mana's turn to sound as though she had lost her tongue. "It's…funny, really…how close we grew, before I remembered everything from the past. We were always friends, right? Close friends, and that was that. So of course, you felt familiar to me at the start, but I couldn't for the life of me figure any of it out, and I…"

Her eyes suddenly grew shiny, but not the disoriented sparkle of before – they were tears. "As Mana the priestess, I loved you as my friend, but now, as I am – as Kahina Nassar – I…Atem, I think I'm in love with you."

Atem's heart froze along with his body. He wanted to brush Mana's tears away, but tim stopped for him, despite his brain whirring a million miles an hour.

"Really?" His voice came out hoarse, almost choked.

"Really."

"M-Me?"

"Yes, you, you big goof!" Mana slapped Atem's broad chest playfully, the hint of a smile reappearing on her face. "Now, I know you're a socially awkward dinosaur, but you could at least humour me with a good old friend-zoning of "oh, that's so sweet!""

I don't want to humour you.

I want…

The acceptance of his heart's desire thawed out the icy tension in Atem's body. Taking in the sight of Mana before him, all shiny eyes and unruly hair, dressed only in bright, fluffy socks and an oversized t-shirt, he couldn't help leaning closer to her. The relics of the past screamed their opposition, that it was wrong, to covet an old friend so –

But that was then.

This was now…

…And as their lips met, brushing together in that first fleeting, tentative kiss, Atem cast aside his doubts and fears. Ecstatic joy bubbled within his being, revelling in the feel of Mana's delicate body against his, the scent of bubble-gum soap on her skin, the taste of her tongue slipping into his mouth. He let a hand wander into her hair, the other resting on her waist, as his eyes closed and he lost himself in the moment.

One kiss turned into two, then three, and before they knew it, they'd ended up back on the bed, Atem lying atop her as they kissed. He had no desire to risk taking their intimacy too far, however, and it seemed Mana had the same thought, as she pulled away and giggled, wiping her lips. "Wow, Atem…I wasn't expecting this."

Atem suppressed a chuckle, "No, me neither." He reached down to brush a few wayward strands of hair from Mana's flushed face. "I do believe I'll come to bed after all."

"Ha! I win!" Mana beamed up at Atem and looped her arms round his neck to draw him in for another deep kiss.