A/N: I've noticed a happy amount of favs/follows, and I have to say, I really appreciate them and I'm happy to know people are reading, and as always another thank-you to those of you who've reviewed!

After a few hours of rest and a shower, Kaiba set out to "pharaoh-proof" his vacation home while the other man slept. Kaiba had put away his kitchen knives, emptied the bathroom medicine cabinets, and removed any long cords he could find, and anything else he found lying in reach that could potentially be used as a weapon. Anything he managed to gather was thrown into his private safe, hidden in his bedroom. He had also securely blocked off access to the storage shed outside, where one would find a plethora of dangerous tools, rope, cables, blades and the like. All this had been accomplished and it was hardly noon. Kaiba hadn't slept long, but one night of missed sleep didn't bother him terribly, and he decided to find other ways to fill his time.

Atem awoke to the sound of gentle notes and a soft melody. Though the sound wasn't displeasing, his first reaction, nevertheless, was to throw the pillow over his head and sleep longer. However, despite his preference, his stomach soon made up the decision to get out of bed for him. He dug out some clean clothes from the pile he found set out for him, presumably purchased and brought in for him by the CEO's employee. It felt a bit strange to let his rival buy him clothes, but what other choice did he have, after all? He tugged on a pair of black designer jeans (which thankfully fit at the waist but he found were a bit too long and needed to be cuffed at the hem) and a dark grey v-neck shirt Atem found to be astonishingly soft against his skin.

The melodic sound that had awoken him grew louder as he exited his room, and he followed it to the living room where he spotted Seto Kaiba sitting at the piano he'd hardly noticed the night before. The sight was so… alluring, that Atem couldn't bring himself to do more than stand in the doorway and watch. The brunet's whole body moved along with his hands as he fell increasingly deeper into his own music. Not once did Atem see the man have to turn a page of sheet music.

Seto, though facing Atem's direction, didn't appear to notice him since he remained silent and continued to play for a few minutes, without removing his eyes from the keys he pressed. When the song had gently come to a close, he finally looked up, not appearing surprised in the slightest to see Atem standing in the doorway.

"I believe we've both missed breakfast, but lunch is in the kitchen if you're hungry." Atem found a small smile was growing across his features before he could do much about it, until he glanced into the kitchen to see the meal that was awaiting him. Seto had picked up playing a different tune, this time more somber than mellifluous.

"K-Kaiba?" Atem questioned, glancing into the kitchen from where he stood, looking confused. "Your kitchen looks a little… bare. What happened?"

"Just looking out for you, you idiot, since you can't seem to do so to save your life… literally."

"Thanks, I suppose. But you shouldn't have bothered."

"I guessed you'd feel that way, which is exactly why I had to do it."

"Whatever." The former pharaoh turned his attention toward the food that had been left out for him. As he settled in to eat his meal, a simple sandwich on wheat toast, he heard an unfamiliar electronic sound from the direction of the living room, and the music Seto had been playing abruptly stopped. Confused, and a little disappointed that the music was gone, he chose to investigate. He had to admit to himself that Kaiba played piano exceptionally well, especially for somebody who never struck him as a musician.

He ducked his head into the living room, carrying his sandwich with him, holding his plate underneath to catch any crumbs. The large screen television that hung on the far wall (which Atem suspected did nor see much use from the elder Kaiba brother), had been illuminated with a video image of the young Mokuba Kaiba. In the small corner of the screen was a video of the room Kaiba himself was in, and it dawned on Atem that, though he didn't understand a whole lot of modern technology, he could conclude that Kaiba must be participating in a video call with his younger brother. He had, after all, seen his friends make such calls on their computers in the past, and had even participated before.

Seto, having apparently heard the other's presence, gestured for him to sit down on the other end of the luxurious sofa he'd taken up.

"If you're interested in speaking with Mokuba as well, I don't mind if you eat in here. Just don't get crumbs all over the floor unless you plan to clean them up yourself."

You have a thing against messes in general, don't you, Kaiba? Atem wondered idly as he approached the couch and took a seat.

"Hey Atem! Long time, no see! How've you been?" Mokuba asked enthusiastically, and Atem was already regretting the decision to join in this conversation. He decided to outright lie, hoping his rival hadn't explained to his young brother why he was even there, though he knew the elder brother would give him grief for it later. But just why should he care?

"I'm doing fine, Mokuba." He faked a smile. Why had he chosen to sit down, anyway? Was he just that disappointed that the music had stopped? Perhaps he felt that if he had a direct hand in the discussion, he could make it end sooner and maybe the man would go back to playing.

But that was nonsense. He had no logical reason to care about music. About anything.

Both of the brothers were staring at him.

"So…" Mokuba started, "You never did tell me, Seto. How come you guys are hanging out anyway? I figured you would want a weekend to yourself for a change." It seemed Seto had not explained all of the rather… messy details.

However, it seemed that he had caught onto Atem's little game, and decided to play along.

"It was nothing more than circumstance, little brother. He looked like he could use a vacation as well, and I suppose I must have been feeling generous at the time… or something," Seto covered for his guest, but eyed him in the process, checking to make sure the Egyptian understood the situation.

Atem finished his meal and excused himself while Seto and his brother continued to chat, mostly with Mokuba animatedly relaying the events of his trip since the brothers had last spoken. After rinsing his dish, Atem found himself staring out the window over the sink, taking in the scenery of the Japanese mountains. The heavy greenery and the bright blue sky, and the wispy mist masking the mountain bases, held his fascination for a short while, much to his own surprise. He only became aware of his awe once Seto pulled him out of it, by tapping him on the shoulder.

"Here," Seto said, offering Atem his personal cell phone, which had been ringing. "It's for you. I should let you know, while I may have covered for you with Mokuba, I felt somewhat more inclined to explain a thing or two to Yugi, considering he's much closer to the situation. So don't answer this assuming you can keep lying to everybody." Atem shot him a look before the man spun from the room. He assumed Seto had been eager to return to his brother, but to his surprise, instead of voices resuming, he returned to the piano.

Atem looked at the ringing device in his hand and contemplated not answering it. But his mind flitted to Yugi on the other end, and knew how his dear friend would likely feel if he did, especially now knowing Seto had told him the situation. Seconds before the last ring, Atem pressed the green button and placed the phone against his ear.

"Yes?" He said, his voice solemn. He didn't know exactly how he ought to face Yugi, knowing that he knew.

Yugi sighed on the other end of the line before speaking. "Atem, I'm so glad to hear you. Kaiba, um… well, he told me… everything."

"I know." he said simply. "He told me he did so." Atem was silent a moment, waiting for Yugi to speak, but it seemed that on the other end, the young duelist was doing the same. "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say for myself," he explained finally.

"Atem… I feel like, well I've always felt that I can talk to you, about anything. You're always open, and you make yourself approachable. …Do I not do that for you?" Yugi paused, but Atem was silent, so he went on. "Or is there some other reason you didn't think you could talk to me about this?"

"Yugi, it isn't you. None of this is your fault. I don't exactly know what to say other than that. I'm sorry." And what could he say? That he didn't want to tell his closest friend he was done with his life, because he knew he would try to stop him? That would sound so… guilty. But it was the truth, wasn't it? He only hoped Yugi could figure these things out so he wouldn't have to be the one to say it. Especially since he intended not to be around to answer any of his friend's questions.

"Look, Atem. I'm not upset with you or anything - not in the slightest. And I don't want you to feel like you're being scolded for feeling the way you do. I understand - in my own way, I guess. The part that bothers me is that you're carrying a burden you won't let me help you with. Yet you've always been there to shoulder mine. It sort of feels like, maybe you don't think I can help you."

"Yugi, I…" He sighed, pausing to think about how he could comfort the young one. "Listen. This is a little difficult over the phone. I'll be fine for the weekend. Kaiba's keeping a very consistent eye on me while I'm with him, anyway. Why don't we do this over coffee on Monday?"

"I'm just worried about you. I don't want to lose my best friend again. Atem - you're family to me, I hope you know that. Are you sure you're going to be ok?" He was growing tired of this already. He decided to force a little cheer into his voice to quell the younger one's worries.

"Yes, aibou. Kaiba is taking care of me. You will see me again on Sunday. Please, you have no reason to worry."

"You call me that, but is it really true anymore?"

"Is what true, Yugi?"

"You still call me aibou. But you don't act much like you want to be partners anymore." Atem found he had nothing to say to this. He knew he was being selfish. He just couldn't find it in himself to care about that. Yugi seemed to shake it off. "Never mind. If you say I'll see you Sunday, then I trust you. We can talk about this later. It's ok." Atem tried to stifle the sound of his relief.

"But before you hang up, could I talk to Kaiba for a minute?"

"Sure…" Atem reluctantly agreed, heading toward the brunet and his wafting melody. He didn't want to stop it. But Seto's eyes snapped up to the Egyptian and his hands remained hovered just above the keys he was about to play, when he walked into the room.

"Yugi wants to speak with you." He returned the man's phone. "I intend to take a walk outside… if you don't object, I guess." Kaiba covered the phone's mouthpiece with his palm.

"The tool shed has been secured for your protection, in case you get any ideas. And I will be paying attention." Kaiba put the phone to his ear and waved his guest away. Atem rolled his eyes and left the building. He felt like a child.

And that wasn't helping.

Kaiba answered once Atem was out of hearing range. "Yes, Yugi?"

"Hi Kaiba. I just wanted to check up… um, hold on a sec." Yugi lowered his voice before continuing. "Can Atem hear me?"

"No. He went outside."

"Alright. I guess I wanted to say that I get the feeling Atem isn't really being completely honest with me about this whole thing. And I don't really get why - I mean, I don't think I'm coming off the wrong way, or-"

"Yugi, listen," Kaiba interjected with authority. "He is lying to you. He's lying to everyone. I heard your conversation with him just now. He was just trying to get you off the phone so he didn't have to feel like you were sending him on a guilt trip. The truth is, he's not going to be fine until Sunday. Not without supervision, that is. And I'm giving him that, but I can only do so much. I do have to sleep, after all."

"What about your staff? I mean, I hate to ask, since I know it isn't their job to watch him."

"No. It's just the two of us here. Mokuba will arrive Sunday morning, but otherwise it's just me, playing babysitter."

"Oh. I didn't realize. I'm sorry, Kaiba. I wish I could take him off your hands. But I… I just don't know what to say to him yet."

"I think the seclusion may serve him better than being in the city anyway. He seems to somewhat enjoy the scenery out here. And there's much less that he could use to hurt himself with."

"You're probably right."

"Was that all? I probably ought to go check on him."

"Oh, yeah. Go ahead. And keep me updated?"

"Mmm," Seto muttered before hanging up his phone without waiting for a reply. He stationed himself at his kitchen window. He didn't have to search long before spotting Atem's spiky hair in the back yard. The man was sitting on the freshly trimmed lawn, holding his knees to his chest, staring off at the scenery he'd been peering at through the window earlier. He decided to join the man, with a few possessions in tow.

Atem didn't look up as he heard, and felt, footsteps approaching.

"I know it's a surprise, Kaiba, but I'm not actually in the middle of trying to kill myself."

"I noticed. Why is that?" Now Atem did look up at his companion, if but for a moment.

"You put everything away."

"That's your only reason?"

"Yes. Now you're just wasting my time."

"What are you in such a hurry for? It's not like you have some sort of high-class social calendar that revolves around the event of your death. Is breathing really that agonizing?"

"We've been through this. You don't understand. You made that clear."

"I thought I'd made it clear that perhaps I may be interested in doing so, though. That doesn't count for anything?" Atem looked at the brunet again, now that he had joined him on the grass. But his eyes were drawn to the ground in front of Seto instead.

"What's that?"

"Don't tell me, you don't know a chess board when you see it?"

"I'm not very familiar with the game." He glanced at the other's face. "But I know what the board is. I'm just wondering why you're carrying one."

"It seems I need to remind you again that I'm on vacation."

"Your point?"

"Believe it or not, but I do actually like to take it easy once in a while. Since I'm not here all by myself like I'd planned I figured I might take advantage of the situation. Would it be too much of a burden on your poor tired heart for you to join me in a game of chess? I like to keep my skills sharp, and I trust you to be a worthy opponent to test them against." Atem glanced sideways at the board on the grass but didn't respond.

"Perhaps it may be added incentive for you to know I'm currently the titleholder for World Chess Champion."

"Really." He didn't seem highly interested, but Seto set up the board anyway.

"I won the title when I was ten years old, and I've defended it ever since."

"It must not be a very challenging game for you to succeed at it at such a young age."

Seto glared. "Don't insult me. I've always had very high intelligence."

Atem still had nothing to say.

"Do you know the rules?"

"You're assuming I've already agreed to join you, when I've hardly said a word."

"Besting me means nothing to you anymore." It may have been meant as a question, but Atem's continued silence proved the statement to himself. He stopped putting the pieces on the board when he was only halfway through.