When Yugi had finished telling his closest friends everything—albeit the current situation with Atem—he bit his lip and watched as they processed the unbelievable truth. He wondered if they were very upset with him. After all, he had been lying to them all for the past years. Many times he could've told them what was really happening, but instead he chose to keep his mouth shut. Looking back, Yugi knows that if he had just said something, all the pain he'd gone through would've ended sooner. But, at the same time…if he had told them earlier…

He would've never met Atem. And because of that, he couldn't bring himself to regret not telling them until now.

Yugi shifted in his seat, worried about what Jou, Malik, and Ryou would say. He thought that Atem's hand had found his arm and touched it reassuringly, but it was so quick and light that he wondered if it happened at all. Nevertheless, he turned pink, unable to figure out why Atem made him feel so important. So special.

Finally, unable to bear the silence any longer, Yugi spoke again, "So...uh, that's it. I'm really sorry for not telling you sooner...I-I just couldn't. I didn't want you guys picking a fight with him. I don't know what I would do if you all got hurt because of me." Yugi twisted his hands together, unable to look at their frozen, shocked, and angry expressions any longer.

"That bastard!" Jou suddenly growled out, like he'd been trying to hold in the words but now they just had to break free. "I'm going to kick his ass!"

"No, Jou! He'll—"

"I can't believe people like him!" Ryou's face was pinched with disgust. "How could he? There is something seriously wrong with him. I understand you worrying about us, Yugi, but you need to learn to rely on us more. We're friends, aren't we?" Warm brown eyes caught Yugi's, and Yugi shrank back into the couch, guilt wrecking his body.

"Of course we're friends!" Yugi said. "You're the best friends I have." He met everyone's eyes seriously. "I know I have a hard time letting others help me carry my troubles, but I don't regret not telling you. Do I feel bad about it? Of course I do. I feel so bad about leaving you all in the dark. I wouldn't change anything, though. I love you guys, and I'm not going to risk loosing you."

"He needs to rot in hell!" Malik yelled, his lavender eyes flashing.

"Oh, he's going to wish he was in hell by the time I'm done with him!" Jou snapped, gripping his hand into a fist atop his knee.

"But wait, Yugi. What about you?" Ryou looked at him. "What will you do now?"

"What do you mean?" Yugi blinked.

"We're not letting you go back home to that—that…" Ryou shook his head, unable to find the proper words for Saguaro.

"I know!" Malik snapped his fingers with a grin. "You can stay with me! My sister is always wanting to help people, so she won't mind, and she's been on this tarot card kick lately. She could practice her future telling skills on you."

"Thanks, Malik, but—"

"It'll be cool!" Malik continued. "I mean, of course, the reason you'd be staying with me is bad, but we can stay up and plot revenge."

"Well, I—" Yugi tried again.

"Just say yes," Malik insisted, his smile falling a bit. "Please, Yugi. We can't let you go back to him." Yugi had to admit; staying with Malik would be fun. But there was one small problem—his newfound wings. Should he tell them about being a half-angel? Perhaps, but he didn't. That could wait. He didn't want to overload them. As if the though of wings reminded him, Yugi looked over to Atem and he saw the said man staring at the ground. Would Atem want him to go? As if feeling his gaze, Atem looked up and offered him a sad smile.

"What do I do, Atem?" He asked in an undertone.

"The choice is yours, Yugi. I'm not keeping you prisoner." He murmured back. That answer and sad smile only solidified Yugi's original decision. He wouldn't leave Atem.

"Thank you, Malik. Really. But I can't." Yugi told him gently.

"What? Why not?" The question came from Ryou.

"I'm already staying with someone." Yugi reached over and placed his hand on Atem's shoulder, and Atem looked at him with slight surprise. "Atem."

"You don't have to." Atem quickly said, trying to cover the hope in his voice. Yugi wanted to stay with him, and that made him happy. He thought Yugi would've chosen to live with his friend over him.

"But you just met him," Jou said, his dark amber eyes flitting from Yugi to Atem and back.

"Yugi is perfectly fine with me." Atem told him.

"I've been with him for a few days now, Jou," Yugi insisted. "Everything's okay."

"That may be…but..." Jou cast a worried look to Yugi, then shook his head. "Fine. I'm not goin' to force you to do anything you don't want." He then looked at Atem, regarding him seriously. "But Yugi knowing you doesn't change the fact that we just met you. After all that's happened to him, I'm not willing to just hand him over to anybody." Jou was worried, not because he thought Atem couldn't handle Saguaro—actually, he looked like he could—but because he had noticed the way Yugi looked at Atem. Yugi obviously liked the guy, though he didn't seem to know it himself, and that made Jou feel unsteady. He didn't know if he should be happy for his friend and encourage him, or try to protect him from the wound love could inflict. It's not like Yugi had a lot of experience with this stuff. "How do we know Yugi won't get hurt again?"

Atem sat up straight and meet Jou's gaze. He could understand Yugi's friend's worry, but he felt that Jou was hinting something else. But what, exactly, he wasn't completely sure. "I won't let any harm come to him," Atem swore. "He's safe with me." He spoke with such certainty that Yugi's friends couldn't find anything to say in argument.

"Well," Ryou said after a long pause of quiet. "That's that. Yugi is staying with Atem." He watched Atem. "We're trusting you with the care of our friend, Atem. Don't betray that trust."

"I won't." Atem's hand unconsciously found Yugi's and he gripped it. Malik leaned over and whispered something to Ryou, who nodded in agreement. They both looked at Atem with an odd expression.

"We'd better go." Yugi finally said and he stood up. In an instant, he was enveloped in a group hug, and his throat felt tight. He swallowed hardly so he wouldn't cry.

"If you need anythin', man, you know all of our numbers." Jou said, rubbing the top of Yugi's head before the group broke apart.

"Atem? Ready to go home?" Yugi almost stumbled on the last word. It was odd how easily he thought of it as home now. He didn't really feel like he deserved the right to call it that.

"Sure," Atem stood up as well and the group followed them to the door.

"You guys going home, too?" Yugi asked them. They shook their heads, Jou saying something about wanting to talk to them and Ryou muttering something that sounded like, "Well, this is my home."

"Nah, we're staying for a bit." Malik said. "Going to plan out how to kill Saguaro."

"Guys, don't. Seriously. Don't even joke about that." Yugi said quietly. Malik immediately felt bad about what he said.

"Sorry. But we really do need to think about this entire situation."

"Out of anyone in the world..." Jou muttered. "Why did it have to be you? I'm not sayin' I want it to happen to someone else, but why you?" Yugi just sighed and shrugged as he went to step out the door, only to stop when he heard Ryou speak.

"Uh...Atem?" Ryou asked tentatively, showing his natural shy side. Atem did a typical male answer by grunting as he looked back to him questionably. "Can me and Malik talk to you really quick? In the kitchen?" Ryou gestured to the left of him, and Atem's eyes widened in surprise.

"Um, okay?" Yugi watched, curious, as Atem followed them into the kitchen, hands in his pockets and his face mildly curious.

"I wonder what they're saying?" Jou wondered, but he actually had a good idea. Yugi just shrugged, trusting that Atem would be back out soon.

"So what do you need?" Atem asked as they stood in the kitchen. He leaned back against the counter; his hands still in his pockets.

"Well…" Malik avoided his eyes. "We, meaning Ryou and I—and possibly Jou, too—noticed how…well, how…"

"How you look at Yugi." Ryou finished for him, gauging Atem's reaction. Atem had suddenly found the floor interesting.

"I wasn't even aware that I look at him any different." Atem replied, removing his hands from his pockets to cross them over his chest protectively.

"Well," Ryou said slowly, trying to figure out how to proceed. "How do we put this?"

"Do you love Yugi?" Malik blurted out, unable to wait any longer. Atem's arms tightened around him, and he didn't answer. Did he love Yugi? He wasn't sure himself. Of course, he couldn't deny that he felt attached to Yugi on a deep level. But maybe that was more than even love.

"Atem?" Malik questioned after a moment of silence, and Atem looked at him. "Do you love him?"

"I…I can't be sure," He finally said, slightly avoiding the question. "I don't know if what I feel for Yugi is love. It could be very nearly that." Atem paused, gathering his thoughts. "Look, all I'm absolutely sure of is that I like it when he smiles, and I would do anything to save him from his past. I don't like it when he cries, and I'm worried that, as long as Saguaro is around, he'll never be able to step fully into light. You guys don't know what it's like to be close to him and wonder if he'll flinch or cry out when you move. I'm afraid he'll break if I'm not careful."

"…I see." Ryou folded his arms as well, but not in a protective way like Atem. He was quiet as he took in and processed this information. Atem and Yugi may not know it, but he could tell there was something between them. Some kind of bond—an invisible string made of iron that wrapped around the two. He'd always been good at spotting those kinds of things. "I don't know much about you Atem…actually, I feel like I don't know much about anything anymore. I thought I knew everything about my best friend, but it turned out I was wrong. I don't like feeling this way." He frowned. "But even with all that, I'm trusting you. I don't know what the future holds, but…for Yugi's sake, I'm willing to try."

Malik stepped closer to Atem and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll do what we can to help Yugi move forward." He said. "And we'll trust that you will, too."

"You can count on me." Atem said, and Ryou wondered how someone so young could sound so, well...old, sure, and wise.

Yugi couldn't stop looking at Atem curiously ever few minutes or so. What had he talked about in the kitchen with Ryou and Malik? It was like one big secret that Yugi didn't know, and he didn't like the feeling of being left out—especially when his best friends and Atem were involved. There was no doubt in his mind that they had probably talked about him, and that made him more curious and uncomfortable.

"What is it, Yugi?" Atem asked, feeling Yugi's gaze land on him once again.

"I…n—nothing." Yugi looked away, deciding that it wasn't even his business to wonder what they had been talking about. It was between the three, and if he was supposed to know, he would be told sooner or later. "I just…wanted to know what we're going to do now."

Atem knew he was lying, but he didn't let Yugi know. He was about to open his mouth and tell him that they were going home when he saw a figure round the corner. Almost instinctively, he pushed Yugi behind him, fearing that it could be Saguaro. But after one look at the wide, kind blue eyes of the person, he relaxed and went to look at Yugi.

Yugi, however, couldn't tear his eyes from the woman now approaching them. Something about her…was so familiar. He knew her. The woman stopped in her tracks when he eyes fell on Yugi, and her face suddenly shifted to one of joy that almost covered the sadness. Yugi covered his mouth and shook his head slightly. It couldn't possibly be…

"Who is she?" Atem asked, but his voice was muted against the disbelief ringing in Yugi's ears. In a second, his face crumpled and he started to sob, much to the alarm of Atem. "What is it?"

"Yugi." The woman's tone was full of recognition and was as light as the air it traveled through. The sweet sound of it made Yugi cry even harder. He stepped around Atem and walked forward.

"M-mom." He said, gasping for air through his sobs. He clutched his chest and kept walking towards her, looking like his legs were about to give out on him. She smiled and held her hands out, and just like that—forgetting that he wasn't a little child anymore—his control broke and he launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her back and hugging her. He hid is face on her shoulder and tightened his hold. His mother was alive. She was here, and she had found him.

Michelle held him close and rested her cheek on the top of his head. He certainly wasn't her little boy anymore. She shook with her own sobs, muttering, "Oh, Yugi…" She had made the mistake of letting him go before, but that would never happen again. She would never let Yugi go. He had been, and still was, her entire world. She hated Saguaro for splitting the family up, and she hated herself more for not taking Yugi with her—for not rescuing him sooner. She didn't have to ask if Saguaro ever hit him. She knew he had. Once a fruit was spoiled, there was no going back to its original flavor. Saguaro would never become what he used to be.

Finally, Michelle pulled away from Yugi and studied his face. He was so much older now. His face still held it's boyish charm, but at the same time he looked so…worn. He looked tired and sad and so lonely. She brushed her thumb against his cheek, and touched a thin scar just above his eyebrow. She would never be able to look at him enough. Guilt wrecked through her body as she cursed herself again for leaving him.

"I m-missed you so much," Yugi whispered. "I thought you forgot about me—or that you were dead. You never came, and—"

"I never forgot," She replied, her voice thickened by tear and anguish. "Never. There wasn't a day that I didn't think of you! I wanted to come back and get you, but I knew that if I came back he would keep me prisoner, just like he's done to you. I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I was too weak to protect you." She bent over with the weight of her guilt, placing her forehead on his shoulder. "I'm just…so sorry!"

And then, suddenly, the line between the roles of parent and kid blurred, and Yugi was the one doing the comforting now. Atem watched as Yugi held his mother's shaking form as she sobbed so hard on his shoulder. He felt like an outsider. He shouldn't be watching this scene. But at the same time, Atem couldn't look away. The raw emotion from the two was shocking. He had never known Michelle had been such a big missing part of Yugi. As he watched, he thought that maybe this was a big first step to Yugi putting himself and his life back together.

Finally they broke apart, and when Michelle had to wipe some snot away from her nose with an embarrassed look, they suddenly started to laugh. A sound that rang through the air and felt like freedom and joy. Atem couldn't stop the slight smile forming on his lips. Yugi had gotten his laugh from his mother.

"I'm so glad to see you," Yugi was grinning now, and his hand enclosed Michelle's. "There's someone I want you to meet." He turned around and gestured for Atem to come closer. "Mom, this is Atem." When Atem was close enough, Yugi grabbed his hand and placed it in Michelle's before stepping back. "Atem, this is my mother, Michelle."

"It's nice to meet you," Atem said, shaking her hand.

"Well, we certainly have a lot to talk about." She said to Atem and Yugi. "I've missed years of my son's child hood, and, god help me, I will not miss anything else."

"Come with us, mom." Yugi grabbed Michelle's hand. "I'm staying with Atem right now because—" he stopped and tried again. "Well, I'll have to tell you that later. There's actually…quite a bit to explain."

Letting herself be tugged along by Yugi, Michelle wondered what had happened to make him leave the house and what secret he was still hiding from her.