Title: Beginnings
Theme: 18 – Honesty
Summary: "If you'll have me," he said quietly, "I'd very much like to stay."
Rating: K+
Genre: Drama
Notes: My attempt at the 'Yami chooses Yugi over the Afterlife' plotline.

It took him all of two seconds to realize that he'd made a mistake.

"Yami – " His voice cracked, and he cut himself off, reminding himself that that wasn't the pharaoh's name anymore and he had no right to call him that. "Atem…"

But the pharaoh had turned around already, still responding to the name they'd given him. "Partner?"

Yugi knew there was a lot to interpret in the way he spoke in that quiet voice, but he didn't feel up to deciphering it. Not now.

"Look, I – " he began, then stumbled and started again. "I just…"

The pharaoh turned around and started walking back. Yugi didn't look up; he could feel everyone behind him watching, listening. The ceremonial chamber was dead silent, his voice the only sound to be heard echoing through the room.

"I should've told you this sooner," he said, then realized how loud he sounded. This was something personal, he told himself, so he should lower his voice. But he found that he couldn't care. "But if you must go, I just – wanted to – "

Yami was silent, watching him with caring eyes. He was wearing that ancient pharaoh outfit, complete with the cape and gold jewelry flashing in the dim light. A crown circled his brown, highlighting sharp, aristocratic features. He looked exotic in the dark chamber, bright against the dreary stones.

Yugi kept telling himself that he didn't belong in this world.

"…just wanted to say goodbye properly," he finished softly. A part of him cringed at how incomplete it all still seemed; he should do it right, be completely honest. He shouldn't let things be left unmentioned.

Yami regarded him closely with soft eyes; then, in one movement, he swiftly reached out and pulled Yugi to him, burying ring-clad hands in his jacket. Yugi hugged tighter, clinging, his nose pushed into the soft, thick cloth of the cape around his neck. He tried to put his unsaid words into that embrace; he wasn't sure if it worked, but Yami seemed to understand.

"Does he have to go?" a pleading voice behind Yugi asked; he could recognize it as Tristan's, probably addressing the Ishtars. "He's… solid now, and all. I know he should go, but… is there any way?"

None of the Ishtars replied, but Yugi was unconcerned with this exchange in dialogue, for Yami was talking into his ear now. "I have guessed things might end this way," he said quietly. "Though I prayed they would not have to."

Yugi clung tighter, if possible. "I wish you…" He swallowed. "I just wish you could stay with us. With me."

The pharaoh was silent at this, and for a moment Yugi was afraid he had said the wrong thing. But he realized, as Yami's breath hitched, that he was just at a loss for words. "Yugi," he said suddenly, pulling back with a crease between his brows, the same one that came when he tried to solve a particularly difficult problem. "I do… wish that I could stay. With you."

Yugi would have been happy if he hadn't already been so miserable. "…Thanks for saying that."

He acknowledged this with a nod, using Yugi's words as a stepping stone for his next ones, still frowning a bit. "If… what you have said is honest…" Yami let out a frustrated breath, upset that the words weren't coming to him easier. He gathered himself, looking determined. "I was under the impression that you wanted me to go. No, please, listen," he said to prevent Yugi from interrupting. "Let me be honest. I thought if were gone, your life would be easier. And it will. I know that you care for me, but I believed that you, being the noble person that you are, would think my departure would be worth the safety of the world."

He continued, voice still more soft and more fragile than Yugi had ever heard it. "I… am a selfish person, partner. Far more selfish than you, who are a remarkably selfless person, could imagine. I do wish to stay. I wish to live in this world with you and our friends. If you… do not think it a worthwhile risk…"

By this point, Yugi felt as if his heart had stopped. Hardly daring to hope, he asked, "You'll stay…?"

It was a rare moment indeed when the pharaoh looked unsure of himself. "If you'll have me," he concluded, still quiet, "I'd very much like to."

Yugi couldn't seem to speak. His voice just wouldn't come. He closed his mouth, ready to nod, but all he could manage was a smile. A smile that tugged at the corners of his lips and was a bit watery, but was still an answer – and Yami smiled brilliantly back.

"Ishizu," Yugi's voice rang louder than he'd meant it to. The woman in question had been discussing something very fast and very foreign with her brothers, but she turned now, eyes wide and already searching, it seemed, for his decision.

Yugi tried to phrase his question carefully, but all that came out was, "Is it possible?"

She swallowed, looking from him to Yami and seemed, for a moent, to be at a loss for words. She swallowed, then questioned cautiously, "You're sure?"

Yugi nodded and he could tell Yami was holding his head proudly beside him.

Ishizu, who had closed her eyes at his affirmation, took a deep breath. She looked at the pharaoh once more before turning to Yugi, a soft expression on her face. "Yes. He can stay."

Duke's confused "What just happened?" was drowned out by loud cheers that erupted from the group standing at the bottom of the stairs. Joey seemed to have been following the conversation closely, exclaiming like a maniac, all dignity forgotten. Téa had her hands pressed to her face in silent celebration, tears in her eyes. Ryou and Tristan were trying to calm Joey down while attempting to hold in their own enthusiasm – and Mokuba was smiling broadly himself as Kaiba surveyed the scene with his usual stoic lack of expression, perhaps only broken by a slight twitch of his lips as he seemed to realize that he'd have more opportunities to beat his rival, after all.

Yami's voice reached him through the commotion, quiet in his ear. He was smiling as he said, "I think we ought to live happily ever after," and Yugi couldn't help but laugh, remembering those old childhood stories Yami must have been inspired by that Yugi had once shared with him, and he realized that they'd have plenty of time to share more. He was thinking all of this as he and Yami stood there, holding hands, smiling, smiling, and finding it quite hard to stop. "It should be hair-raising."

"And you'll keep trying to protect me," said Yugi.

"And you'll be far too nice to me," Yami replied, smirking.

"We'll see how it goes," Yugi said. At Yami's nod, he then squeezed one of his hands, and gently led him down from the platform to greet their friends.

He hadn't been completely honest, not yet. And he knew that he'd have to be eventually. But he also knew that he'd gather up the courage to tell him, one day. Soon. They had time.

Words: 1213
A/N: I just realized that the last five prompts I've done all begin with the letter h. Unintentional, but kind of amusing.