More Atem PoV this chapter.

The bell above the game shop door jingled pleasantly as Atem swung it open. He couldn't help but smile as he looked up at the little object that provoked several pleasant memories of Yugi and his friends entering in on their way home from school.

"Hm? What's this? Atem?" questioned a familiar friendly voice.

Atem lowered his gaze, still smiling as he took in the modern incarnation of the one who had practically raised him and taught him everything he knew.

He stepped forward and happily embraced the old man. "Shimon, it feels like it's been ages since I saw you last!"

Solomon returned the gesture, holding Atem out at arms length afterwards. "Technically it's Solomon in this era, but I'll let it slide," he said with a wink. "Though I also answer to 'Grandpa' as well," he added with a chuckle.

Atem felt embarrassed for the briefest moment at having said the wrong name, but Solomon's jovial attitude quickly relieved him of that feeling.

"Too many names for a single face. You can hardly hold it against me for having a hard time remembering which one is correct," Atem stated with a friendly smile.

"No, that I cannot," Solomon said in agreement. He walked over to the door and flipped the sign to 'Closed'.

"You don't have to close early on my account," Atem stated, suddenly wishing he had called ahead to inform Solomon that he would be stopping by.

"It's a slow day anyway, and I'm not too worried about a few lost sales. A visit from an old friend is much more important than any money I might have received." Solomon leaned in close, as if sharing a secret. "Plus, I don't really need the money. I'm housing not one, but two members of an ancient Royal family...one of which can eat his own body weight in food if you let him."

This prompted a burst of laughter from Atem. In that moment, all the stress and negativity he felt towards his new life evaporated away as Solomon placed a hand on his back and led him towards the apartment portion of the building.

Solomon directed Atem towards the kitchen table, then set off to boil some water for tea.

"You know, I almost didn't recognize you at first," Solomon stated as he lit the flame under the kettle. "It's very odd seeing you wear so little."

Atem looked at the old man in confusion. "So little? I'm wearing jeans and a sweater. Both cover far more of my body than anything I used to wear as Pharaoh."

Solomon let out a hearty chuckle. "I was referring to your lack of gold!"

"Oh," Atem said in realization. "I'm…in the process of changing how I view myself. I am no longer Pharaoh, so I do not feel it is necessary to wear such elaborate adornments for something as casual as visiting a friend."

"That makes sense…but what about the Pendant?"

"Katrina has it safely locked away in Egypt. Spending five-thousand years trapped in a relic leaves you wary of even being near said relic once you are free."

Solomon nodded in understanding. "I see where you might feel that way. I can imagine it was not a pleasant experience." He placed a cup of tea in front of Atem, then sat across from him at the table.

Atem stared down into the cup. All the negativity about his new life had returned. "It was not," he replied to Solomon's comment. "Katrina was right," he said with a heavy sigh. "I was torn away from one life, and forced into another. I can see she is trying to make things easier for me…but I don't think it's possible. I don't think she realizes that it's not just about things like a place of my own, or learning how to do everyday tasks…for me, it's about trying to figure out who I am now. I have no problem changing how I view myself, but I am uncertain what to do with my life. If I am no longer Pharaoh, then what is my purpose?"

"Whatever you want it to be," Solomon said casually as he sipped from his own cup of tea.

Atem flung his head back and groaned in frustration…an old habit from whenever he felt exasperated towards Shimon for offering little in the way of helpful advice. He then brought his head forward and took in and released a deep breath to center himself.

"I have no skills that are applicable in this era. What am I supposed to do?" he questioned with a furled brow, trying not to let his frustration show through.

"Maybe find a hobby? Oh, what about painting? You always did an excellent job at applying Katrina's body paint."

Atem lowered his forehead into a palm. "Please do not mention that. It provokes indecent thoughts of something else that I no longer have in this era."

Solomon mulled for a moment before speaking again. "You're having a hard time with the divorce," he stated plainly.

Atem heaved another sigh, his brow furled in a scowl. "I am trying to do as she wishes, but it does not help when she struts about like the evil temptress she is."

This provoked a hearty laugh from the old man across from him. Solomon placed his cup on the table, stood, then walked across the kitchen to a door that Atem knew to be a storage closet of sorts. He opened it, rummaging through for a few moments, then shouted 'aha!' as he found whatever it was that he was after. He then walked back to the table, placing an ordinary-looking box in front of Atem.

"This is for you," Solomon said with a smile that squinted his eyes shut. He quickly opened his eyes as he appeared to remember something. "Oh, wait just one moment, I forgot something." He then began wandering away towards another room. "I'll be right back! Don't touch or open that box just yet!"

Atem watched as Solomon exited the room, then placed his focus on the box. Solomon had gotten him something?

After several minutes had passed, Atem began to grow impatient. He drummed his fingers in rhythmic succession on the table as he leaned boredly onto a fist. He continued to wait, his eyes occasionally darting over to the box. What might Solomon have gotten for him?

The longer he waited, the more his mind kept wandering back to the box and what it might contain.

He stretched casually after several more minutes, then stood and looked around to see if he could spot Solomon anywhere. He craned his neck around every corner, then wandered back to the table. Surely just a tiny peek inside the box wouldn't hurt, right?

Atem played back and forth with the idea in his mind. To peek, or not to peek?

He slowly reached out, straining his hearing for even the faintest sound of a footstep. He held his breath, trying to make himself as quiet as possible. As his fingers touched the box, he instinctively looked around once again to make sure the old man wasn't where he could sneak up on him.

He opened the top, holding his breath even more, then looked inside.

"What?" he said in confusion. The box was empty.

Still unable to process the idea of an empty box being placed in front of him, he tipped it over and shook it as if hoping something would magically fall out.

"You lasted longer than the last time!" Solomon said loudly from behind with a chuckle.

Atem jumped in startlement, dropping the box and clutching his chest in an attempt to keep his heart from leaping out of it.

"Are you trying to give me a heart-attack?!" Atem shouted quickly as he leaned on a chair for support. "How do you always manage to sneak up like that?!"

"I told you not to touch the box," Solomon said in amusement.

"Why would you place an empty box in front of me then tell me not to touch it?!"

"You've obviously forgotten the lesson with the blank scroll."

Atem was on the verge of wanting to strangle the old man. He recalled the lesson well. It had happened back when his father was still alive. He'd been studying the basics of magic at the time and Shimon had placed a scroll in front of him, then made a point of informing Atem to not peek at it before leaving the room. It took Atem all of five seconds to grab the scroll and open it, thinking that it might have been full of advanced spellwork. He was quickly disappointed to learn that it was blank, and that the whole thing had been a test to determine if he had the willpower to leave things be when instructed.

Atem groaned in irritation. "I didn't forget," he grumbled, folding his arms across his chest while looking away and pouting at having fallen for the same trick. "I always hated when you did these kinds of things."

"I was trying to make a point," Solomon stated.

"What? That when told not to do something, that I manage to just go ahead and do it anyway?"

"Partially. I also wanted to point out that when you think something is special, you become fixated on it. Even after discovering there is nothing special, you refuse to believe it. You try in vain to prove that there must be something there."

Atem groaned some more. "Can't you just speak plainly? I didn't come here for a lesson."

Solomon walked up and got in Atem's face, giving him a stern look. "You have been given a rare opportunity. Your scroll has been wiped blank and your box has been emptied. You have the chance to write your own life and fill it with whatever you want. Your purpose doesn't have to be something grand or special. It can be whatever you decide to make it."

Atem's head was drawn back and away from the old man that had gotten in his face, his eyes wide as he stared blankly for a brief moment. "Okay…okay. I get it. But the problem is I have no idea where to even start."

Solomon procured something from his pocket and held it out to Atem. "How about you start with this?"

Atem furled his brow in mass confusion at the small ball dangling from a keychain. "What is it?"

"Why, it's a Magic 8 Ball keychain, of course!" Solomon said with a smile as though the answer should have been obvious.

Atem continued to stare in confusion. "I don't understand? Is it filled with actual magic?"

"Nope!"

"Is it…cursed?" Atem asked warily.

"Nope! Just something that's popular with tourists that like to take a look around my shop. See, it even has the shop logo on it!"

Atem kept staring in confusion. "Okay…but why?"

"Why? To help you when it comes to making difficult decisions, of course. I won't always be around to help guide you."

Atem continued to look strangely at the object even as he took it from Solomon's hand. "Okay…thank you…?"

Solomon gave him a hearty pat on the back that nearly knocked him over and made him audibly 'oof'. "Anytime! Now how about you finish your tea while I go get us something to snack on!"

Before Atem could say anything, Solomon had rushed off.

He stared at the keychain once more, then shrugged his shoulders dismissively and bent down to pick up the box he'd dropped. He set the box on the table and placed the keychain inside, smiling a little at what they represented. Solomon was right. He had a chance to start over. To be whoever, and whatever, he wanted to be. The old man had also, in his own strange way, provided Atem with a way to help make decisions on his own…not that he ever intended to rely on some random response from a toy. The gesture was thoughtful, nonetheless.

Atem sat and took a sip of his tea, which was now nearly cold, and waited for Solomon to return. He looked forward to the rest of the day, wondering what old stories Solomon would regale him with until Yugi returned home from school.

Gotta have Gramps doing weird Gramps things.