Chapter Text
School resumed, and while Yugi and his friends found themselves thrust back into the bustle of a normal life, Yuki found herself stuck with a boy out of time. They had all gladly agreed that high school was not for Atem, at least not in person. But he had stuck around in Yugi’s body long enough to grasp a high school education. Exceeded expectations actually.
Yuki wasn’t surprised. The Egyptians were sticklers for academics, and Atem was no different. He’d breezed through his online courses with the same ease he exhibited during his duels, giving him time to wait until Yugi returned.
And wait….and wait….and wait.
Yuki supposed it was to be expected. They were no longer concerned with saving the world. Their free time wasn’t dedicated to dueling monsters and fighting for their lives. It was dedicated to catching up on half a missed semester, studying for the college entrance exams, and doing dutiful duties of high school seniors.
It was mundane. And Atem was a stranger to the mundane.
For the first few weeks, Yuki had given him his space. Healed enough to move freely around the house he knew so well, he’d occupied himself with manning the front desk(though according to grandpa, they had less of a need for it during the summer) or sitting in the living room, laying on the sofa and playing on his phone.
He only perked up when the door handle twisted, and Yugi stepped in gleefully, greeting Atem like it was the first time he’d ever seen him.
The night would follow routinely then. Atem helping Yugi with his homework, Yuki calling them to dinner, and both boys sleeping not soon after. It was during these times Atem was attentive, his violette eyes bright and gleeful. The fervor followed him until bed, only to be dulled when Yugi left for school in the morning.
It wasn’t too surprising though. Not when Atem’s existence had been dependent on Yugi for so long.
And when Yugi went away, she supposed part of Atem’s soul went with him. Not to mention, all of their friends were at school or had jobs. This left Atem alone, sulking on the couch.
She hadn’t realized it before, but there was the disinterest in anything remotely Yugi related, the fatigue, the loss of appetite...all in the first week. And she knew it was too quick to jump to conclusions, but she’d been there before.
Atem was lonely and depressed.
They had done it in good faith. Left him to his own devices, because why should the savior of the world have to lift a finger for anything? Why would he bother himself with employment, or even physical classes? Yugi had said that Atem deserved to take it easy. But her poor child did not understand the mechanics of human emotion. When Atem had said his soul needed to rest, Yugi took it to heart.
And unfortunately a good deed had left her with a depressed King.
So Yuki sought to alleviate that.
--
Yuki had caught Atem one afternoon just before he’d made his descent onto the couch, phone in hand and unreadable scowl. She lingered just out of sight, a premature pause as she observed the boy. She had no idea where the sudden intimidation came from, but she steeled her nerves as she made herself visible.
It was now or never.
“Hey Atem,” She had said with practiced ease as she waltz towards the couch, “are you busy?”
Atem to his credit did what he could to muster up an interested expression, though the dullness behind his eyes seemed to beat him to it. But ever the helper, he had shaken his head at the question, immediately offering his services to Yuki with a quick, “Do you need assistance?”
Yuki smiled, as she leaned against the couch, looking out of the same window Atem had claimed for himself, “Not assistance really. But it’s a nice day and I want to go walking, and I would really love a partner.”
Atem cast a glance towards the window, perking up just slightly as the sun’s rays. Yuki could tell he battled with the choice in his head, his hand clutching his phone while his eyes told another story.
“Well make it back in time before Yugi gets here, I promise.”
Those seemed to be the magic words. Atem looked at her with wide eyes, shocked that she had caught on to his scheme.
“You’ve been watching me.” Atem stated, sitting up with a hint of curiosity in his gaze. Yuki pulled away from the couch and threw her arms up, caught red handed.
“You could say I’ve been spying,” she responded as her arms dropped to her side, “but it’s not much of spying when you’re sitting on the couch in the open, sad.”
The glint seemed to dim in his eyes, and Atem averted his gaze sadly from mother.
“You were always to the point,” he admitted.
“I wish I wasn’t,” Yuki took this opportunity to sit beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, “but it’s hard to miss. You’re not happy. Not here. Not like Yugi thought you’d be.”
Now Atem looked as if he had been caught red handed, her mere admission of what they both knew like a secret curse. And his face showed it. Atem opened his mouth, no doubt rushing to deny what had been said. To this, however, Yuki raised a hand.
“It’s okay be sad. You’ve given up everything to be with Yugi and his friends, but you only see Yugi a few hours a day, and his friends on the weekend.” Yuki spoke, her hand now rubbing circles in his back, “It’s alright to be upset by that. But don’t let it consume you dear. Say what you need to say first, and then we’ll go on our hike.”
Atem stayed silent for a while, biting his lip as he struggled to speak. Yuki looked away, though her hand never left his back.
“I….I…” His voice croaked, “I love being here with Yugi and his friends. I like being here as well. In Egypt...I was a King and my life was threatened always. I could never breath or live for myself. But now I can. And I don’t regret or resent this life. It is just...different. For the last few years, i’ve spent my entire life with Yugi, and before Yugi I spent it catering to the needs of others. There was always...noise...now it’s just quiet. And the quiet is unbearable. Yugi used to alleviate it. But now he’s gone for eight hours of the day.”
Yuki nodded as Atem spoke, her gentle rubs encouraging him to continue.
“I want Yugi to be with me, as he was when we shared a mind in the puzzle. But...it is not right of me to ask that of him. Yugi spent the last two years helping find my memories. These new years belong to him, and only him. I have no right to ask him to sacrifice his life for me again.”
Atem spoke as if he were trying to convince himself of a hard truth, trying to tame his sadness and anger.
“It’s okay to feel like you should though,” Yuki supplised gently, “you can be angry and you can be lonely. Don’t bury those, okay? Let’s just find a way to work on getting them out.”
Atem nodded, the tension in his back easing as Yuki continued to gently rub him . His cheeks darkened slightly as well, unaccustomed to such confessions. Not only that, but shocked that the mother of the boy he was angry with took it so well, and encouraged him to be angry.
They fell into a steady silence, and if Atem began to cry quietly, Yuki did not mention it.
They let the silence draw on for longer, lingering until Yuki felt her insides stirring with anticipation. It was time to move on.
She jumped up, catching Atem by surprise.
“Let’s go.” Yuki extended a hand, fingers beckoning Atem to her, “before the clouds cover the sun.”
Now Atem smiled, the weariness replaced with a hesitant hopefulness.
He took Yuki’s hand.
---
They did not make it back by the time Yugi returned. Atem had been too preoccupied with plants on the side of the road, and Yuki was all too happy to indulge him.
---
It appeared as if her invitation that day had opened the door for more than an afternoon walk. The following weeks had been filled with Atem awkwardly inserting himself into Yuki’s space. At first it had been puzzling, but only briefly. After she got over the initial shock of Atem following her into the kitchen, and asking how he could be of assistance, she had found his presence strangely calming.
Yuki was no liar. Like any good mother, Yuki felt herself learning how to cope with the times her son was gone. It was hard enough when he started kindergarten, and she barely made it through elementary school. High school and saving the world was even harder.
Needless tos ay, Yugi’s absence was bothersome. Not to mention, Grandpa had taken the opportunity to lead an archeological dig in Ethiopia and visit with relatives for the better part of the year.
And without her needing to work anything other than the counter, she had found herself with ample time on her hands.
Atem was a welcome addition.
The first thing she had tasked him with was making toast. Which was a complete failure. But it wasn’t meant to be a task he could complete, it was more of an exercise to gauge where he was.
After the window was open, and the smoke was aired out, Yuki spent the next few hours teaching an eager Atem baking and cooking 101. He was a surprisingly interested student, asking questions and even venturing on his own when he’d gotten the hang of it.
By the time Yugi had returned to the house, there was an assortment of baked goods and small entrees all in the kitchen. He didn’t have to worry about lunch for the entire week.
--
Atem had also busied himself to other tasks around the house, after getting the hang of it of course. Laundry was his favorite. Partly because he was so intrigued by the mechanics of a modern laundry machine, and partly because he got to do it with Yuki. He followed her through the house with baskets of laundry, going into he and Yugi’s shared room and throwing dirty uniforms into the bins.
When they had completed those tasks, they divided the rest of the house chores amongst themselves. Yuki would take the bathroom and two of the bedrooms, while Atem took the kitchen, he and Yugi’s room, and the game shop. Between the two of them, they finished their chores in a little under three hours, and spent the rest of the day watching TV or going outside when the weather was nice.
And of course there were the weekdays when there wasn’t a need for major chores. When the kitchen was all that was needed to be cleaned and the beds made, Yuki and Atem found other ways to occupy themselves.
--
“Do you want to play a game?” Atem had asked Yuki, as they scanned the TV for anything remotely interesting to watch. It was noon, and with noon came midday cartoons and shows which typically consisted of infomercials and game show reruns, nothing Yuki or Atem were particularly interested in.
So when the former Pharaoh suggested a game, Yuki accepted it graciously. She knew that Atem and games were sure to be very interesting.
“What do you have in mind?” She asked as excitement bubbled within her.
“Just Duel Monsters,” Atem said, as if Duel Monsters was the most casual, harmless game out there.
“I haven’t played since I dueled Yugi,” he admitted, though the sadness that he had about him weeks ago was not there, “and I’d like to try my hand at it again.”
“I have no idea how to play Duel Monsters,” Yuki gave an honest admission of her own, “and Yugi may be my son but I have no understanding of the game. Honestly it seems like physics to me.”
Atem smiled, “I’ll teach you. It’ll be easy.”
Yuki took Atem’s hand with the same grace he’d taken hers when they went on their first walk.
--
Atem had won against Yuki in under 30 minutes during their first round, though had given her leeway in the second round. She was like Yugi. she caught on quickly, and learned the ins and outs after having them explained to her only once. By their third round she had actually gotten pretty good at it. Atem had to put up his defenses, much to Yuki’s delight. After their 12th round, Atem was honestly considering calling Yuki the “Queen of Games”.
“You’re sure you haven’t played this before?” Atem had asked after Yuki had managed to resurrect her strongest monster from the graveyard, again.
“Not entirely, but the whole family has a thing for games,” Yuki admitted, “I was a chess champion by the time I was eight.”
Atem nodded, impressed. Somehow that was not a shock to him. Afterall, Yugi didn’t get all of his lessons from grandpa he supposed.
---
Despite their new found relationship, Yuki knew that Atem’s favorite days were the weekends. Those were the days when he’d forgotten all chores and obligations, and stayed holed up in Yugi’s room doing whatever the two of them did together.
Yuki figured they were playing games. If Atem liked games, then Yugi was obsessed with them. And they had thrown jabs at one another during dinner about reclaiming the title King of Games.
So when she ventured into their room one Saturday morning, basket in hand and preparing to pick up their laundry, she had honestly expected them to be sitting too close to the television screen with game consoles in their hands.
What she hadn’t expected was to see them both on Yugi’s bed, Yugi behind Atem with his head on Atem’s shoulder, both watching something on Yugi’s phone. They were so close, so close in fact that somehow, some way Yugi’s hand had found itself in Atem’s pants.
Yuki wasn’t sure which was more. She, or her flustered son, who'd banished her with a, “MOM!!!!! GET OUT!!!”
If words could physically move someone, Yugi’s demand certainly would have. For Yuki found herself turning on her heel and closing the door almost automatically. Face still hot as a tomato, Yuki retreated to the kitchen, where she hurriedly fixed herself a glass of water to calm her nerves.
After she’d downed half of it, she wasted no time in dialing Solomn’s number, shouting, “I thought they were like brothers!”
To which the man on the other line laughed, “You thought those two were like brothers? Those two are as much brothers as Antarctica is a dessert. My dear, when have they ever acted like brothers.”
Yuki had scraped her brain for a single instance in which their relationship was the least bit “brotherly”, and came surprisingly short. No sibling would insist that he cook his brother's food or do his laundry or clean his room, no sibling would remove his brother's jacket when he came back for school or offer to carry his bags to his room, no sibling would look at Yugi the way Atem looked at him.
Yuki face palmed, and grandpa's laughter erupted on the other line.
“I won’t hold it against you dear. You did get with Ezra, so you’re oblivious anway,” Grandpa said through chuckles, causing Yuki to blush even more. Sure, Ezra Muto had been a complete disaster and Yuki hadn’t been much better when it came to love, but certainly she wasn’t this oblivious.
“Well,” she groaned, “I guess I need to give them the talk, huh.”
There was a pause, and another roar of laughter
“Have fun getting Yugi to sit down for that.”