Yuugi and Anzu have returned! Y'all can thank Cameron-kun, without whom this story woild probably have been forgotten and unfinished. In his honor and in apology to anyone else who still cared after all this time, the chapter is extra-long.

It's also extra-mushy, with quite a bit of Seto in there.

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Chapter 9: The Truth About Love

"Daaaaaaamn, so the runt has backbone after all!"

"Shut up, Seto."

"Hey, I could kick you out of the car right now if I wanted to."

Atemu turned to face him. "Yeah, but you wouldn't, even if you could."

Seto muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "wouldn't, my sexy ass." This warrented no comment from Atemu, however. Seto sighed. "No, I wouldn't throw you out on the street. I've got to go see Yuugi too, remember?"

"Which reminds me, why do you even care about any of this? Since when are you so nice to us?"

He snorted. "Define us. I'm only being nice to you and your little aibou."

"Well, why?" Seto, for once, was silent. "Are you expecting me to do something for you?"

"Idiot," he muttered, barely audible. "You already did(1)." At his cousin's confused expression, he tried to elaborate, for once at a loss for words. "Remember when Kisara first moved here?" Atemu nodded. "Remember how depressed I was?" He frowned, then nodded again. "Well... I don't know if you've ever been in love..." He shook his head this time. Seto sighed. "Well, there's this whole phase you go through when nothing else seems to matter. It's like... suddenly, the girl you love is everything. Like you can't..." Seto seemed to be struggling for words. "It's like you can't even think, or... or breathe, or exist... if she's not... I mean..." He sighed again. "I don't know. It's like this crazy obsession... but maybe it's not as painful for most people... they don't love someone enough that it physically hurts..."

Atemu smiled sadly. "Seto, this world would be a much better place if every man loved as deeply as you." He looked directly at his cousin. "And I truly mean that." There was silence for a moment as the car pulled up to the Kame game shop. "See you tomorrow," He called over his shoulder.

"Itoko-chan..." Seto said quietly. He smiled. Not his usual joking-at-someone's-expense grin, or even his trademark I'm-about-to-hand-you-your-ass-on-a-silver-platter smirk. This was a genuine, contented smile. Like when he saw that Mokuba was safe from Pegasus after all. Or when his little brother finally broke free of Noah's brainwashing. When the woman he loved kissed him. When his rival- no, his baby cousin- whom he rarely got along with but cared for more than he'd ever freely admit- just made his day with a single sentence.

"Thank you."

Atemu grinned lightly. "What? It's the truth." Now he grimaced, looking at the house. "Well, time to go face the music."

"Good luck. Mokuba's just starting to experience hormones, so I've got a good idea of how you feel."

"You poor creature... well, I've got it worse; at least you don't have to come up with a new excuse every time you want to leave. Just tell him you've got a company to run."

Now it was Seto's turn to grimace. "No, I've got it worse. You don't have a girlfriend giving you the 'I'm-very-disappointed-in-you look whenever you try to escape."

"Ooh, tough luck. You're going to have to get me a girlfriend so I can see what all the fuss is about."

There was that well-known smirk. "You're right, we'll have to do that sometime. I'd like to see the so-called King of Games trying his hand at the dating game."

Atemu raised an eyebrow. "What, you think I'll be in over my head?"

"Itoko-chan, most things are way over your head... literally."

---

"Aibou?" Atemu asked gently. Yuugi was staring at his CD player, a sour expression on his soft features. The music was so loud Atemu could hear it several feet away; it was the song Yuugi had just gotten slapped for. He didn't appear to have noticed his other self enter, but he soon turned off the music.

"Am I stupid?" he asked suddenly. When he got no response, he glanced at Atemu, who was busy pondering the question. Yuugi turned his attention to the ceiling, eyebrows slightly raised. "Mou hitori no boku?" he asked, more softly this time, "are you angry with me?"

"Never, aibou. Why do you ask?"

"You should be. I was an asshole today."

"Don't call yourself names. It'll only make the situation worse."

"Worse?" he repeated, growing hysterical. "Worse?" he yelled, almost shaking. "How can the whole goddamn 'situation' get any fucking worse? I lost the girl I loved, and just because I was too pathetic to just let it go, I broke my friend's heart(2). I lost my temper at you, my other self, probably the only one who doesn't hate me now. You've been nothing but helpful through this entire ordeal, and I-" he broke off, looking ashamed and horrified. "I... I wanted to hurt you... I wanted to hit you as hard as I could, I was that mad..." His eyes grew wet and a tear trickled down his cheek. "But I can't..." he whispered sadly, "I could never hurt you... you're my partner..." he choked back a sob. "Mou hitori no boku... I love you(3), more than I can say. And I hate myself for it."

There was silence for a moment, save for Yuugi, who was sobbing uncontrollably into his hands. Finally Atemu responded, "It's never fair, is it?" He put an arm around his aibou and pulled him close. Yuugi gave in, clinging as though he might break. "It just isn't fair..." Atemu held his aibou tightly, gently stroking his hair in an effort to calm him down. "I saw this all the time, in both lifetimes, but I still have a hard time with it."

"What," Yuugi sniffed, "guys turning into complete monsters when they're frustrated?"

"Shh... no. It's not about being right or wrong. It's that the sensitive ones... the people who care more than anyone else and usually put others before them... they're always hurt the most." He sighed. "For a while, I thought I could beat that. I tried to think there was some sort of equation; that there was a right way to give a damn, but not let it affect you too much. But you know what?"

He smiled at Yuugi. "You're the one who taught me I was wrong. You showed me that it's better to care. True courage lies in the ability to forgive; the ability to get up and never stop caring, no matter how much it hurts. You taught me that in kindness lies true strength(4). Loving with all your heart is the greatest act of courage. Never forget that, aibou."

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(1)See my other fic, I Will Always Love You, for details. When I wrote this, I wasn't thinking of it being a prequel, but it offers a good reason for Seto to be nice to the Yuugis.

(2)See my other fic, OMFG IT'S A REBECCAxOTOGI STORY, for details.

(3)That isn't yaoi, perverts. In the original Japanese version of the Yuugi-fights-brainwashed-Jou episodes, when Yuugi's giving his last words speech, he tells Jou that he's his best friend and that he loves him. It was the cutest thing.

(4)This sentence I stole from the manga for the same episode. It's after this that Atemu says, "One day... you will surpass me by far." It's kind of... ominous. It was cool.

All right, that's all for now. Please review!