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Yugi looked around, confused as to where he was. He was standing in the middle of a huge meadow of all sorts of flowers, along with a fairly big river running through it. Much further along, the edges of the meadow were guarded by many cherry blossom trees in full bloom, jasmine vines and flowers intertwined with the lower branches. The sky held large, fluffy white clouds and was a pretty blue, though it did turn a fascinating teal color as it got closer to meeting the horizon.
"Wh....what is this place?" The young King of Games thought. "And more importantly, where exactly is here?"
With a sigh, Yugi leaned down to pick one of the flowers by him, and he paused then he actually saw what kind of flowers filled this little piece of paradise. The ones closest to him were roses of all different colors - excluding black - but close by pansies. Lilies weaved themselves around all the other flowers, but the hydrangeas stood proudly where they bloomed.
"Wow," Yugi breathed out, a soft breeze blowing to keep him from getting too warm under the sun, even though he only had on a white dress shirt and grey jeans along with his usual choker.
Soft, slow footsteps caught Yugi's attention. He quickly stood up - lavender rose in hand - and looked around, hoping to see someone and know he wasn't alone.
"Hello!?" He called, still not seeing anyone. "Is someone there? If so, would you mind telling me what we're doing here? ......And where exactly 'here' is?"
The footsteps stopped for a long moment, making Yugi worry, until the slowly started up again. They were even slower than before, and heavier, as if the person was scared to approach him. The young King of Games was about to call out again, when another voice spoke up.
"...Yugi?"
Yugi felt himself freeze. He knew that voice. Oh he could never forget that voice, no matter how many years passed. Forcing himself to move, Yugi slowly turned to look to his right. And there, standing regally as ever in the beautiful meadow while dressed in his royal attire.....was Atem.
"Pha.....Ate....Yami...." Yugi choked, stumbling on the three main names him and his- their friends knew him by.
Before he could even blink, Atem rushed towards Yugi and enveloped him into a tight embrace. Yugi was shocked at first, but quickly hugged the Pharaoh back, relishing in the fact that he actually could hold onto Atem.
Yugi was the first to pull away. "Yam- Atem," he breathed, again stumbling on the old nickname he had used before learning the Pharaoh's true name. He really needed to break that habit. "What are you doing here?"
Atem blinked, then looked confused. "What do you mean Aibou?" he asked, the old loving nickname coming from that baritone voice nearly sending Yugi over the moon. "This is where I'm supposed to be. What in the are you doing here?"
Yugi let the words sink in. If Atem was where he was supposed to be....then that meant-
A flash of a memory caused Yugi to gasp and stumble back. He remembered the bitter taste of the alcohol, the many empty bottles scattered around him, the cold seeping into his very being, and.....someone - possibly Joey - bursting into the room. Yugi also faintly recalled the word 'seizures' being used a lot....before he woke up here.
"I....I-I...." Yugi croaked, his whole body horribly shaking. He couldn't wrap his mind around what his memories told him, he just....he couldn't have. But....but...
"Yugi. Aibou!" Atem's voice snapped Yugi back to reality, not realizing the young King of Games was crying. "It's okay Aibou, it's okay now. You're right here with me now, it's all over. You don't have to tell me what you remembered, just know that I'm not going anywhere anymore."
Yugi sniffled as Atem whipped away his tears. "You....you promise?" he asked. "You promise you'll be here with me....forever?"
Atem stared at him for a long while, a few tears of his own forming in the corner of his beautiful crimson eyes, before he nodded and told Yugi. "Yes, forever."
There was a long moment of silence, both young men just staring into each other eyes. Before Yugi gently picked a blue pansy and decided to tell Atem what he had wanted to tell him since before the Ceremonial Duel. "I didn't want you to go that day."
"Hm?" Atem said, gently taking the hand that wasn't holding the flower. "What do you mean Aibou?"
"The day we had to duel," Yugi clarified, tightening his grip on Atem's tanned hand. "I didn't want you to leave us....to leave me. I couldn't stand the idea of being without you by my side. You were my other half, you still are. You make me feel complete, and when you left it felt like I was missing something....someone..."
"Yugi-"
"For a long time, I could barely find the strength to get out of bed every morning," Yugi kept going. "Some days I did just stay in bed all day, not caring what anyone told me. It hurt. Every single day without you was agony, like my heart was being ripped out of my rib cage. And I finally realized why after all this time."
"Yugi-"
"Atem, I lo-"
Yugi was cut off when he felt firm but gentle lips press against his own. The young King of Games almost instinctively kissed back, tears of pure joy streaming down his face.
"I love you too Aibou," Atem said gently, helping them both stand up again.
Yugi laughed, whipping his tears away. He was so happy to have his Atem back, and nothing would tear them apart again.
The Pharaoh suddenly looked behind him, then turned back to his lover and said. "We should probably head back to my palace, everyone is worried about me and will definitely want to meet you."
Yugi paused, and became very nervous. "Do.....do you think we could come back here every once in a while?" he asked. "Just to get away from everyone."
Atem tilted his head, then nodded. "Absolutely Aibou," he promised. "We can also mostly come here to meet up with the others once it's their time to join us."
Yugi nodded, then smiled as he followed Atem to the palace, cherry blossom petal flowing in the breeze all around them. While how Yugi ended up in the Afterlife was tragic, he was with Atem now, and that made his soul that much happier.