CHAPTER 25: THE CHANGE IS EASY CLICHÉ

THE CHANGE IS EASY CLICHÉ: All Scrooge needs is a single night (and four ghostly visits) to go from being a miser so awful that his name is still an insult, to being the kindest, happiest man in town. According to Shakespeare, his father's death turns Henry V from fuckboi to hero king as soon as the crown lands on his head. And even in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Jounouchi switches from bully to loyal friend with the flip of a manga page.

I'm jealous.

Why do those guys get to speed race through changing their lives and themselves, while the rest of us have to slog through an obstacle course of our own making, complete with dead ends, wrong turns and doubts?

MORAL: Sometimes art imitates life, and sometimes art is what life wishes it could be.

Jounouchi stared at Atem's receding figure. He scowled and headed in the opposite direction, an innocent bystander running from a crime scene. He repeated all the reasons he was right for a couple of blocks before he calmed down enough to wonder what had just happened.

It had all been so clear in his head. He'd tell Atem how upset Yugi was and Atem would stop being a dick. Atem throwing a fit had never been part of the plan.

He'd seen Atem spitting mad before, they all had, but it had always been aimed at jerks who were bullying Yugi or trying to take over the world, never at him.

He called Honda. It was hard explaining everything over the phone while Honda kept interrupting. When he finally finished, Honda howled with laughter.

"Wow, when you screw up, you sure go all out," Honda said, still wheezing into the phone.

"I should have known you'd be no help," Jounouchi grumbled.

"Did you even ask Yugi if he wanted you to barge in?"

Jounouchi hung up after that because it was better than listening to Honda crow when he answered, "No."

Of course he hadn't asked Yugi first. He never wanted to see Yugi's "everything's okay" smile again, the smile that never reached his damn eyes, the one that made you want to move heaven and earth to replace it with a real one. If he'd asked, Yugi would have come up with a polite lie or avoided the subject and nothing would change. Sometimes, someone's got to throw the first punch and that someone had always been him.

The more Jounouchi walked, the more his thoughts went in circles. What if Honda had a point? What if Atem thought Yugi had put him up to this? He stopped and leaned against a lamppost. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't avoid the conclusion: he needed to give Yugi a heads-up.

Jounouchi sighed. Yugi was probably with Anzu by now. The second-to-last thing Jounouchi wanted to do was to tell Yugi about his fight with Atem. The very last thing was to confess in front of Anzu and stand there like an idiot while she yelled at him until she finally rolled her eyes, huffed, "Boys!" and forgave him for upsetting Yugi.

He caught up with them at Burger World. They were sitting in a booth, holding hands. Anzu was saying something with her usual earnestness. Yugi was staring at her, hanging on every word.

Jounouchi crashed into their booth and blurted out, "I got into a fight with Atem."

"What? You, too? So did I," Yugi said.

"What?" Jounouchi shouted.

"Why?" they both asked each other at the same time.

Jounouchi spoke first. "I dunno. It all happened so quick. I figured if I clued Atem in on how bummed you've been, he'd fix things. Instead, everything went sideways from the minute I opened my mouth."

"Really? That's so hard to imagine," Anzu said sarcastically. "Did you ever think of minding your own business?"

"I didn't think, period," Jounouchi admitted.

"You don't listen either. How many times have I told you the two of you to just give Atem some space?" Anzu snapped.

"Space wasn't helping! All space did was create distance. Any more space and Atem would be on the moon!"

"You mean it wasn't helping you!" Anzu shot back.

"I think… I think… it might have been helping Atem," Yugi said.

"I guess," Jounouchi agreed glumly. "Even Honda said I should have butted out."

"You were being a good friend," Yugi reassured him. "And you were right, I should have spoken to Atem way sooner. I just kinda hoped that if I concentrated on the good stuff, it'd all work out."

"I really screwed up. You haven't heard the worst. I told him he was being a bad friend. I told him he shouldn't be hanging out with Moneybags so much because it was making him just as selfish. I told him to go back to being the Atem who always put you first. I didn't mean it, but I got mad and it all spilled out. I just wanted everything back the way it was."

Yugi's eyes widened. "With Atem stuck in a Puzzle around my neck? I don't want him to put me first or live his life to please me. That would make me just as bad as you're accusing him of being!"

Jounouchi ran his hand through his hair. "It sounded better in my head."

Yugi bit his lip. "I messed up too. The first thing I asked for, way back when this started, was the strength to be a good friend." He sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if I've lived up to my wish."

"You're the best friend anyone could have! You believed in a Jounouchi that I couldn't see."

"Well, maybe, right now being a good friend means believing in an Atem I never saw coming. Anzu's right, I didn't listen. I just assumed I knew what he needed. I was so sure I'd failed him at the Ceremonial Duel, that I kept doing it even after he came back. But it's up to me to straighten this out."

"No! It's up to all of us!" Jounouchi insisted. "You can't take on me and Atem's mistakes too."

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked.

"Atem complains about Kaiba to you then gets mad when you worry. He doesn't tell you what's up, then gets upset when you guess wrong. I stick my big foot in it and act like Atem's still on a chain around your neck. Believe me, there's enough blame to go around."

"You said the first thing Atem did was send you a heart emoji," Anzu reminded Yugi.

"Yeah, Atem's still here," Yugi said, tapping his chest. "That's never going to change."

"So, what do we do, now?" Jounouchi asked.

"I'll text him tomorrow. We can meet after school. We can practice listening. We learned how to duel. This can't be any harder."

"Why not today? Let's get the Atem and Yugi make-up show on the road!" Jounouchi said eagerly.

"I think he's busy," Yugi said.

Anzu rolled her eyes. "Atem was going home to see Kaiba, remember? If you want to show you've been paying attention, maybe interrupting his first night home isn't the way to go?"

Yugi sighed. "Well, at least Atem is probably having a better night than us."

Atem woke up in the middle of the night, seduced out of sleep by soft lights and the sound of the ocean. He lay in bed, confused, then tried to piece together the evening before. He'd come home last night and fallen into Kaiba's arms. They'd passed out on his game room floor after making love. They'd finally staggered upstairs and into bed without bothering with the lights. They'd fallen asleep again, entangled in each other's arms, after a second round.

He was still in Kaiba's bed; his arms were full of Kaiba's fluffy comforter, its deep blue indistinguishable from black in the dim light. Atem sat up. Why had the lights come on? Why had the ocean sounds changed to the whoosh of dragon wings? He blinked and glanced at Kaiba. He was curled in on himself, his body twitching in a mockery of the heaves and shudders of their reunion. Kaiba's face twisted, as if he was shouting or crying, but the only sound in the room was the swish of artificial wind over imaginary dragon wings – and Atem's own heavy breaths. Slowly, Kaiba's tremors eased and he opened his eyes.

"You came back," Kaiba croaked, his voice hoarse with unspent screams.

"Yes. I'm here. I never left you, Seto."

Kaiba closed his eyes. He sat up, shaking his head.

"What were you dreaming about?" Atem asked.

"I told you before, nightmares are irrelevant. They're nothing more than the random misfiring of our synapses."

"You also said they're our way of turning the day's hopes and fears into holograms. What happened?"

"Nothing that hasn't happened before." Kaiba chuckled. "Last night in fact."

Atem frowned, remembering the last time they'd been awakened by a nightmare. Kaiba had dreamed of being abandoned – and of Atem being the one to inflict the blow.

"I'm not going anywhere, Seto. I promise."

Kaiba nodded and lay back down. "Great. Now that that's settled, let's get back to sleep."

Atem didn't move.

Kaiba looked at Atem and frowned. "I'm fine."

Atem exhaled, suddenly understanding Yugi's frustration with those words. Did anyone ever mean them honestly?

Atem reached out and put his hand on Kaiba's chest. "Who are you kidding? Your skin is clammy. Your heart is racing. Is this some new definition of 'fine,' I never heard about?"

"I dreamed about our first penalty game… about you walking away afterwards, leaving me to die. Happy now?"

Atem stared at him, open-mouthed. "Of course I'm not happy!"

"They're my nightmares and I refuse to let them intrude on my life. So yes, I'm fine!"

"Ssshhh, Seto. Just let me hold you."

He feathered kisses across Kaiba's face, then turned Kaiba until he could massage the steel cords of his shoulders back into flesh.

Kaiba sighed. He shifted on the bed and pulled Atem to him until they were lying on their sides, with Kaiba pressed against Atem's back, hugging him as if he was a super-special Blue Eyes White Dragon plushie.

"I love you," Atem mumbled. He closed his eyes, lulled back to sleep by the warmth radiating from Kaiba's chest.

Kaiba smiled to himself as he heard Atem snore.

Mission accomplished.

Kaiba knew why he kept having the same nightmare. Atem probably did too. He'd lost count of how many times Atem had said he loved him, that he wasn't leaving.

Kaiba knew all that. But knowing wasn't the issue, believing was. And that wasn't Atem's problem to solve. All things being equal, the less Atem knew about his unfaithfulness, the better.

Kaiba had been forced to abandon his plan to reverse engineer his way to the future, but that didn't mean he had to give up. The solution was obvious. All he had to do was make sure that Atem was happy. Kaiba frowned and tightened his grip. He'd never made anyone happy before.

Happiness had been irrelevant, a luxury in a life where every yen had to be spent on power and safety – and now it was beyond price.

Everyone kept telling him to relax and let the future come to him. But the future was a threat as well as a promise. Some things are inevitable. The instant Kaiba relaxed, the game board would reset itself, just like it always did, counting down to zero, erasing any victory he'd earned along the way.

He was back in limbo, alone this time, staring across a field of dead flowers, with not even the ghost of a blossom to hide the black hole at the center of his heart, devouring everything – money, power, victory – that he threw into it. No light, no warmth, ever escaped.

Atem had shattered his heart at Death-T. The remnants of the black hole had remained, promising to re-form, the moment his guard slipped. In limbo, Atem had proven to be Kaiba's own private antimatter. He'd been eager to accept the inevitable implosion if it allowed the hope of happiness to break free.

It had worked after a fashion. But now he was marooned in the ruble, afraid of being buried once more; the brief moments when Atem said he loved him, when Mokuba smiled at him, beacons lighting the way to safety until they flickered and went out, a battery running itself down to emptiness.

Kaiba held onto Atem as though he was a long-forgotten teddy bear. Had he ever had one? Or had it happened in another life on another world? Sometimes his own past seemed just as distant, just as dreamlike. He buried his head in Atem's hair. The monsters under the bed were of his own making; holding Atem kept them at bay.

He closed his eyes and saw his Blue Eyes White Dragon as if she'd been waiting for him in the darkness, lending him her light until he regained his own. He'd prayed to her as a child: shameful, furtive pleas for strength, for endurance, for majesty… words whispered in the darkness of the orphanage dorm or in his bed in this very mansion, before he'd learned that prayers were a sucker's game.

And now she was back.

He drew in a breath. Her light was softer now, gentler. Snuggled between Atem and his dragon, he could sleep.

When Atem awoke the next morning, Kaiba's arms were still around him. He smiled at the stained-glass dragons gazing down on him. The comforter had changed from the dim-lit black of the night before to sapphire blue. He'd never been the first one to wake up before.

His smile faltered. He lay as still as he could, refusing to let Kaiba wake up with his arms empty. During his starfish nights on Bakura's borrowed bed, Atem had missed the way Kaiba clutched him, as if he was too precious to risk losing even in sleep.

Kaiba had dismissed his nightmares as neural misfirings, as the day's temporary folders being emptied but not fully deleted, as his subconscious making nonsensical sense of the day's events. But if Kaiba's last theory was true, why had Atem's return heralded a nightmare?

Kaiba's grip tightened. Then he squirmed and opened his eyes, staring blearily around him until he focused on Atem, myopic with sleep.

"Good. You're here."

"Where else would I be? Did you think I'd sneak out of bed in the middle of the night?"

"Of course not! Are you accusing me of breaking my word?" Kaiba shot back, abruptly awake.

"No! You promised to try, and you have," Atem said, a slight emphasis on the word, "try."

"Trying is for losers!"

"Trying is everything," Atem said, just as firmly.

"Look at Battle City or our last duel. I tried my hardest and it was all for nothing."

"Look at how much you've grown. Is that nothing?"

Kaiba scowled. "If it doesn't work out, trying doesn't mean shit."

Atem paused. He'd always been good at thinking on his feet; since he'd come back, finding them had been the problem. He leaned over and kissed Kaiba, a chaste, closed-mouth kiss. "We share this now: we both want a future that's different from our pasts."

Kaiba wrapped his arms around Atem and kissed him back, with considerably more tongue. "I can't argue with that."

Atem laughed. "Good. I'll count that as a victory."

They got up, showered and dressed. Atem glanced through his closet and put on a Hawaiian shirt he'd bought on their KaibaLand trip, one of the few non-duel monsters items he'd purchased. The shirt was covered by an improbable mix of toucans, margaritas and palm trees, set against a turquoise blue background. The cheerful, modern absurdity of it made him smile. He added lime green jeans, then paused and then folded an oversized yellow, peach and green woven kerchief in half, creating a triangle, and tied it around his waist. He put his notebook in a pink, black and gold messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder.

Kaiba was in his own interpretation of office wear: a swirling gray frock coat, embossed with silver dragons. It took Atem a moment to realize that the neon blue edging on the collar, cuffs, border and hem really was neon, or something similar enough to give off light. A steel gray turtleneck with matching pants and the inevitable heavy Kaiba Corporation belt completed his outfit. Their looks were so dissimilar, they matched.

Kaiba's eyes gleamed as he took in Atem's tropical fantasy of a shirt. "Perfect. I'll pick you up in the afternoon. I'm taking off a little early. I have a surprise."

Atem surveyed Kaiba's face, looking for clues, then glanced down at his shirt. He remembered the closed off construction area at the rear of the house. Could Kaiba have built a bird sanctuary? His lips pursed together in thought. That seemed too tame.

"I got it!" Atem announced triumphantly. "You've built an aviary with holographic dragons."

"Best idea ever!" Kaiba shouted. "I'll get to work on it right away. I should probably include some real birds too. The dragons can chase them for sport."

Atem shook his head and they went downstairs.

After breakfast, Kaiba dropped Mokuba at school and Atem at the museum. Atem went up the broad granite stairs and waved to Isis who was waiting in the lobby. Malik and Rishid were with her. It was the first time he'd seen the brothers since Egypt.

Rishid enveloped him in a bear hug, lifting him off the ground. Malik was standing next to them. His arms were crossed. Atem remembered Malik's wild laugh as he'd howled, "You mean after 3,000 years of subjugation, after having your fucking destiny carved into my back, you changed your mind?"

Atem hesitated, then bowed to Malik. The gesture was less assured than when Yugi had done it; a fading muscle memory from another body.

Atem turned with relief to Bakura, who'd come up silently behind them. So much had happened, it was hard to believe he'd had breakfast with Bakura yesterday.

"The exhibit starts with Kul Elna," Isis explained, leading the way. "Kaiba Corporation sent technicians over the weekend to install the wiring and video walls for the first rooms."

They walked in. Staff were busy assembling various display cases and mounts. At the entrance, a short, animated history of the massacre of Kul Elna and the forging of the Millennium Items ran on a continuous loop. Even when told with stylized figures that looked like they'd walked off a pyramid wall, it was hard to watch – and impossible to look away from. Just before the screen went black, a small, white-haired child snuck away from the devastation of his village.

Atem nodded. "That's where the story starts, for the Thief King as well as for myself. His family has a story that deserves to be told with mine," Atem said.

Bakura gave with a tight-lipped smile.

"The unwanted are just as worthy of life as the great. If pharaohs and chieftains forget this, their followers will as well," Rishid said quietly.

Isis reached out and touched Rishid's arm in a gesture of comfort and apology. He laid one of his hands over hers and smiled down at her.

"The Spirit of the Ring wouldn't understand or accept your gesture," Bakura said, an unaccustomed edge in his voice. He lifted his shoulders up and released them, his shrug resigned, rather than dismissive. "They're his memories, but somehow, I'm the one who got stuck with them. He'd probably find that funny."

Bakura smiled apologetically; his voice regained its usual softness. "It's a good starting point, whatever he would have thought. His idea of right was wrong."

"So was mine, in this at least," Atem said. "I met the boy king I could have been, if I'd never sealed myself in the Puzzle, if I'd never met Yugi. He blinked past the injustice done to Kul Elna's victims, hid it behind the word, 'necessity.'"

Atem fished his notebook out of his bag and opened it to the drawing he'd done of himself in the ruins of Kul Elna, where he'd offered his life in atonement.

Isis looked over his shoulder at the notebook. "This is lovely. It's a fitting tribute to their forced sacrifice – and their generosity of spirit."

"Yes. When given the choice to exact retribution, they forgave my hereditary guilt."

Malik stirred uneasily, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Forgiveness is always a choice," Rishid said. "So is love."

"Everything is a choice," Malik said harshly. He looked away. "I'm sorry. That wasn't fair."

There was an awkward pause. Isis studied Atem's picture in more detail. Malik and Rishid moved closer together. Bakura stared across the room as if a random museum worker adjusting the lighting on a display case was the most fascinating sight in the world.

"It was my responsibility to right the wrongs done to them. I freed their souls. But no one, not even a pharaoh could restore their lives," Atem said softly.

"You were a baby when the Items were forged. What did you do, order people to their deaths from your crib? Do you feel responsible for what happened to my family too?" Malik asked.

Atem paused, then spoke slowly, letting each word fall into place, stones sinking into deep water. "From the moment of my birth I was the heir to my kingdom. Along with my mother's milk, I drank in the knowledge I was responsible for all that happened, for my nation's prosperity, its safety, its obedience to Ma'at's laws. Every lesson reinforced both my importance and my obligations. I died living up to them. So yes, even though I had no hand – could not have had any hand – in what happened after my death, I feel responsible. But our feelings lie to us every day." Atem wondered what Kaiba's feelings were shouting at him right now. "Sometimes we need to question them, to face them down and tell them that they've gotten everything wrong."

Isis stirred, as if ready to intervene, then stayed silent.

"Do you feel responsible for the things that happened before your birth and that will happen after your death?" Atem asked, pressing his advantage.

Malik gave a cut off bark of laughter. "Well played. No, I don't. I've even evaded facing up to what I've done in this life. I mistook cruelty and selfishness for freedom. I, too, want to atone, without being able to help the dead. In my weakest moments, I try to pretend they don't exist."

Isis reached out and stroked the side of Malik's arm. Rishid moved behind him, a pillar to rest against.

Malik leaned back and shook his head. "And yet, sometimes everything that happened feels like a dream."

Atem shifted from one foot to the other. Sometimes his own long-vanished past felt as dreamlike as the worlds he'd visited, just as disconnected and just as much a part of him. He glanced at Bakura, who was nodding in unconscious agreement.

Malik turned to his sister. "Even without the Necklace, you still see clearly. We can only move into the future by acknowledging the past, even – or especially – the parts we want to forget. We had to bring our shared story to light – not for history, or knowledge, or preservation, or any other abstraction – but purely and simply for us."

Bakura folded his arms, hunching into himself and stared at the floor, an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of a drive-by.

Malik caught the movement. "I'm glad you came. I hope seeing the sacrifice of your family recognized and mourned, helps."

"Who are you talking to? Me or the Spirit of the Ring? If he's the one you're trying to reach, you're wasting your time, he's gone." Bakura's face hardened until it looked like an alien artifact, scoured by desert winds. "I'm tired of bearing witness for a ghost. He was a lot of things: a jailor, a hiding place, an escape. I was a lot of things, too: a hostage and an accomplice. But whatever we were to each other, we were never friends."

Bakura blushed a painful pink, as raspberry as a rash. "I'm sorry. You were trying to be kind." He turned to Atem. "Like you, I need to figure out who I am when there's no one else in the room."

He bowed and headed unsteadily for the doorway.

"Wait!" Malik called out.

Bakura turned back, facing them, a defendant at a tribunal.

"I'm sorry," Malik said. "Everyone wants to pretend my dark side came from the Rod, that it wasn't a part of me. I thought you'd under…" He paused. "Have we even met?"

Bakura smiled. "Briefly."

"If you ever need a break from being alone, without being ready to join the crowd…" Atem started.

"Kaiba's mansion has a spare room?" Bakura finished.

"Yes. I even have an apartment now."

"And you need a plant advisor?"

"I already have one. A cooking lesson would be nice."

Bakura smiled. "I'd like that."

Malik reached out and touched Atem's arm. "I shouldn't have blamed you or tried to make your day worse. I was told you were responsible for our isolation, that you'd killed my father. I've believed a lie for so long it still feels like the truth."

Atem bowed, more naturally this time.

"We all keep trying to go back to normal and I don't even know what that is," Malik said. "I feel like I'm just starting to learn how to look at people and see them. I was my father's heir, the future leader of my clan. I never had to do that before."

"Sometimes I don't want to be seen," Bakura said. "I hid for years. Now all I know is that I want a normal that's different from all the normals I've ever known."

"He did sacrifice himself for you when we dueled," Malik offered.

"Did he do it to save me or to save my body so he'd have a home to return to?" Bakura shrugged. "One more thing I'll never know. It's tiring trying to make sense of it all. Cooking, watering my plants… all the things I can touch… I've learned to rely on them, instead."

"C'mon," Malik said. "We've had enough Kul Elna for one day. I think we've earned dessert."

"I know a place nearby with great cream puffs," Bakura said.

"Sold!" Malik replied. He glanced at Rishid who joined them, then turned to Isis. "Is it okay if we ditch you, sister?"

Isis rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised you lasted this long."

Atem and Isis waved to them as they left, then turned their attention back to the room. Atem pulled out his notebook again, sketching the workers as they assembled a display.

Yugi texted at lunchtime. They made plans to meet the next day. They exchanged pictures and emojis throughout the afternoon, mostly of Jounouchi sleeping through various classes. Atem was surprised by how much the museum staff had accomplished by the time he left to meet Kaiba.

They flew home, Kaiba attacking the road at even more than his usual speed. Atem was breathless by the time they entered the mansion.

"Where's the surprise?" Atem asked. The entranceway, with its enormous staircase and soaring acrylic and steel dragons, seemed the same as always.

"Out back."

"How do you expect me to get there without seeing it?" Atem smirked. "Are you planning on blindfolding me?"

"Great idea!"

Kaiba untied Atem's kerchief, folded it into a blindfold and covered Atem's eyes. Atem could feel Kaiba's breath teasing its way across his face before Kaiba kissed him. With his eyes covered, he could concentrate on the softness of Kaiba's lips, the way they moved over his, the feel of Kaiba's tongue invading his mouth. When Kaiba moved back, he felt lost for a second.

"You seem to have forgotten one little detail," Atem said, glad his voice had remained steady. "How do you expect me to get to this surprise without tripping over everything in my path?"

Kaiba scooped Atem up in his arms. "Problem solved!"

Atem put his arms around Kaiba and leaned into the curve of his neck. He gave an experimental lick. Kaiba's breathing hitched.

"I could get used to this," Atem murmured, and then settled down to sucking on Kaiba's neck in earnest.

Kaiba tightened his hold. His breathing quickened further.

"Careful. You seem a little off balance. Am I disturbing you?"

"Not at all. It's impossible to distract me," Kaiba responded smugly.

"Really?" Atem breathed into Kaiba's ear. His tongue whorled in and out of the well in Kaiba's ear, then nipped at his lobe.

Kaiba moaned and picked up the pace.

"Totally impervious," Atem said, continuing his assault on Kaiba's ear and neck, leaving marks up and down the soft skin. He knew Kaiba would refuse to admit defeat, but imagining the signs of his mouth on his rival's skin was enough of a victory to satisfy Atem.

Kaiba was gasping by the time he reached the back door and the outdoors. He swung Atem to the ground and untied the blindfold, his hands gentle on Atem's hair.

Atem stared up at Kaiba's triumphant face. His cheeks held a faint dusting of pink.

"Beautiful," Atem murmured.

Kaiba grinned. "Try checking out the scenery."

Atem took a step forward then stopped, standing still in wonder. A pool had been carved into the back lawn, half hidden by reeds on one side. Butterflies flickered in and out of the tall green stalks and leaves. Atem wondered if they were holograms. Every second revealed some new delight. He stared in disbelief at the lotus flowers rising from the pool. He remembered describing his dream pool to Kaiba. He remembered Kaiba arguing back, mocking his desires. And then, he'd recreated it.

Atem walked to the edge of the pool, bent down and flicked his fingers through the clear water. While the air carried the memory of warmer days, it was a veneer over a cooler, autumnal reality. The water was summer incarnate. He'd expected the smell of chlorine; instead, the delicate honey sweet scent of lotus blossoms teased his senses. Steam was rising from the other end, a smaller pool cut out from stone with a studied naturalness. It wasn't a perfect recreation of his ancient memories. It was something better, a romantic fantasy of a hidden oasis.

"Beautiful…" he repeated, turning to face Kaiba again.

Kaiba was rising out of the reeds, a dragon ready to take flight, the neon blue of his eyes, matching the edging on his coat.

"Seto…"

Kaiba smiled. It wasn't the smug smirk of their arrival; his upturned lips held a hint of uncertainty.

"I'd do anything to make you happy," Kaiba vowed.

Atem leaned towards him, a lotus flower facing the sun. It was easier to drown in Kaiba's smile than in his pool.

"Surprise!" Mokuba yelled, bounding into the pool area, already in swimming trunks and a robe. A towel was slung over his shoulders. He stopped in mid-bounce, starring at his brother and Atem, who were staring at each other.

Atem recovered first. "It's amazing!"

"I know! I helped Niisama!"

"It doesn't look like a regular pool. This is fresh water. And it's warm."

"The engineering behind creating a heated, freshwater pool is simple," Kaiba said.

Atem splashed his fingers in the water, letting Kaiba's explanation of fluid dynamics and heating and filtration systems wash over him, as soothing as the water flowing against his hand.

Mokuba crossed his arms. He barely waited for his brother to finish his explanation before bursting out, "Hurry up! Come on! Don't you want to try it out? Why aren't you in your bathing suit? You get to go in first! We agreed!"

Kaiba and Atem raced upstairs to change. Kaiba got into one of his vaguely draconic wet suits, silver blue this time. Atem's swimming trunks were a fiesta of tropical flowers and palm leaves on a sunset background. They both added robes.

"Ready?" Kaiba asked, his eyes gleaming with the manic intensity of a duel.

Kaiba had vowed to make him happy. As Atem replayed the moment, he caught the grim undercurrent gliding beneath the sparking words. He knew all about obligation; he didn't want to become one, even as sweet an obligation as a priest making an offering to his divine king. He'd left that behind when he'd chosen to live.

"Ready," Atem confirmed, as they headed downstairs.

Atem flung off his robe at the sight of the pool. He splashed through the shallow end before flinging himself underwater. He jumped up, flung his head back and laughed. Water droplets flew from his hair like a new rain.

Kaiba had stopped at the edge of the pool, still in his robe. He stared at Atem, a water god framed by the glowing pinks and oranges of the sunset sky. He took off his robe and raced for the water, swift as a falcon seeking its prey – or returning to hand.

"You're happy," Kaiba confirmed with a smug, self-congratulatory grin as he joined Atem in the water.

They barely registered the second splash as Mokuba barreled in next to them.

"Deliriously happy!" Atem said. "But it's not because of this pool."

Kaiba frowned at the serious expression on Atem's face. He watched uneasily as Atem picked his way through his next words, as if their silence had suddenly become laced with land mines.

"You don't have to do this," Atem said awkwardly, waving his arm at their surroundings.

"You don't like it?" Kaiba asked.

He shook his head. Where had he gone wrong? Atem had been delighted. How had it turned to disapproval so quickly?

Atem didn't need Mokuba's glare to tell him he'd misstepped. "Of course I like it. I love it! Not just because it's so beautiful, but because I can see the effort and care you put into its creation. You designed it for me, but I love it because it's part of you as well."

"If you like it, why did you just tell me not to do it?"

"I didn't! Stop putting words in my mouth! I meant exactly what I said: you don't need to plan and scheme to make me happy. You don't need to do anything. You just need to be."

Kaiba scowled. He hated it when Atem spoke in riddles.

"You don't want me to do things to make you happy?" Kaiba shook his head again. What was he getting wrong?

Mokuba rolled his eyes.

Atem caught the gesture and flushed. "I'm trying to tell you that you – by yourself, without gifts, without trying, without anything – make me happy. Do you get it now, you obtuse jackass?"

Kaiba refused to admit he didn't get it at all. Atem might as well have been speaking in Ancient Egyptian – except he understood that language better.

He loved seeing Atem smile, he loved knowing he'd made it happen. Atem was so golden when he smiled, so light, as if he'd floated to earth on a sunbeam… and that was the problem. He didn't want Atem to drift away just as easily. Atem wasn't tied to him the way Mokuba was… and he'd seen, on multiple worlds, how neglect could dissolve even that unbreakable bond. That wasn't happening. Not on his watch. Making sure Atem was happy killed two birds with one stone and Kaiba believed in efficiency.

He was struggling to think of what, if anything to say, when Atem yanked on his legs and pulled him underwater. He popped up with a roar and dunked Atem. The wrestled in the water, stealing the occasional kiss before tacitly declaring a draw. Mokuba splashed them both. The pool might have had an ancient motif but the toys and floats were modern. After playing they headed towards the hot springs at the end of the pool, and sat on the stone shelf.

While they'd been splashing around, a servant had moved their robes to the nearest chaise lounges and a cooler had been placed within reach.

Kaiba opened it and drew out a clay bottle with a swing-top stopper. He handed it to Atem.

"What's this?" Atem asked.

"The bottle is modern. I didn't feel like risking bacterial contamination. The contents should be familiar."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"It wasn't meant to," Kaiba said smugly.

Mokuba snorted. "If we told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."

Atem raised the bottle to his mouth and took a long swallow. He sputtered in shock. Milkshake thick and milkshake sweet. Figs and honey danced on his tongue, enveloped in a blanket of barley and wheat.

"This is beer!" he yelled.

"Yes."

"No, I mean this is really beer… the beer I drank with my comrades… the beer I remember! Seto… how can I thank you?" Atem's eyes filled with tears.

The pool had been a grand gesture. This was smaller, more intimate somehow, a song sung with friends instead of a symphony.

Kaiba smiled. He reached into the cooler and grabbed a soda for Mokuba and a regular beer for himself.

"No whiskey?" Atem asked.

Kaiba's lips twisted into a rueful smile. "I decided I don't need to acquire the taste."

"Very wise. There's only one taste I care about," Atem said, kissing him.

Mokuba groaned. "I think it's my bedtime."

He headed upstairs.

Atem grinned at Kaiba and swam to the center of the pool. Hints of cooler water teased his legs and torso.

"Did you know that the pharaoh was responsible for blessing the river each spring?" he asked with false innocence.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Blessed it how, exactly?"

Atem smirked. He stripped out of his swimming trunks and threw them at Kaiba. "Exactly how you're imagining," he said.

Kaiba's grin turned feral. He unzipped his wetsuit and headed for Atem. "This is the first thing you've said that could make me a believer. And right now, I feel in need of an extra special blessing. Under the right circumstances, I could even be convinced to beg for one."

.

Thanks to Bnomiko for betaing this chapter and suggesting that Kaiba has an easier time with Ancient Egyptian than emotions!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: One thing I find helpful about writing an introduction is that it forces me to focus on what each chapter is about. I was having trouble pulling this chapter together, and when I tried to find a theme to the introduction, I realized that every chapter in the story was dealing with changes in their own lives and in their relationships, and that really helped me tie it together.

I can see Kaiba, even after having to give up on his plan to reverse-engineer his way to the future he saw, continuing to make the mistake of thinking if he performs X actions he'll get Y levels of happiness. I think he's so used to being cared for in and of himself, that he has trouble recognizing it, while over-analyzing everything else.

Innocent Bystander Note: I hesitated on using the phrase, "innocent bystander," twice – once for Jounouchi and once for Bakura, but I decided I liked the contrast, where Jounouchi instigates things but feels like an innocent bystander in the fight that follows, and Bakura is standing there while everyone discusses the thief king and Kul Elna around him.

DARK PRIDE OF DIMENSIONS DISCORD SERVER: Have opinions on whether Atem's first words to Kaiba were, "What took you so long?" Enjoy fanfiction and fanart? Then do I have a fun and active (18) prideshipping discord server for you!

It's not an interdimensional cannon, but here's the link to the (18) Dark Pride of Dimensions Discord

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SOCIAL MEDIA NOTE: I am on Tumblr, Dreamwidth and Pillowfort as Nenya85. Come check me out there!

To paraphrase Louise Rosenblatt, "A story's just ink on the page until a reader comes along to give it life." This is my way of saying that I'd really like to hear what you think. Please comment.