Yu-Gi-Oh 1. Part I: Remember to Recount

**Title: **_Somewhen, Somewhere_

**Series:** Part III-2 of _Endless Loop_

**Summary: **When Kaiba manages to bring Yami back from the other side, what will it mean for their relationship?

**Pairings:** Kaiba x Yami, Referenced Priest Seto x Atem

**Rating**: Rated **M** for heated encounters, language, and adult situations. This means that there will be **graphic lemons** in later chapters, but I will always **post a warning** at the beginning to let you know when and to what extent they will be present.

**Disclaimer:** _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ does not and never has belonged to me.

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**A/N:** Please note that this is an alternative ending to the previous installment, **Whenever, Wherever**. It can be read in place of **Anywhen, Anywhere**. They are two separate versions independent of each other about what could have happened that day in the ancient Dueling Arena after Yami and Yuugi's final battle.

While being familiar with the first two stories of _Endless Loop_ would be beneficial, it is not necessary to understand this story.

Also, while the beginning of this story is identical to **Whenever, Wherever**, it diverges in a very important way.

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**Part I: Remember to Recount**

Kaiba stared out the window with a scowl, still annoyed that he had caved to his brother's request. The busy streets of Cairo were passing by in a blur and Kaiba smugly noted that none of it felt familiar because of the priest. His mood quickly soured when he realized that was probably only because Seto's Egypt had looked far different.

He settled further into his seat as he glared at the back of the driver's head. At first Kaiba had thought Isono had arranged for it since the brothers had seen the driver holding a sign with, "Seto," written on it immediately after exiting the airport. When the man revealed that Isis had arranged for him to meet the pair at the airport to transport them to the sacred dueling grounds, Kaiba had almost refused to get into the car. There was no way that Isis had been able to foresee his arrival in Japan back when she still possessed the Millennium Tauk, but how else had she known?

Only his brother's pleading gaze changed Kaiba's mind; he already felt bad enough for the delays in getting to Egypt. His last meeting had gone over schedule and he had left a few hours later than he had originally intended. Mokuba hadn't said anything about it, but the disappointment was evident in his eyes.

The further away they got from the city, the more anxious Kaiba became. He never should have agreed to come to Egypt, but it was a bit late for regrets now. What the hell had he been thinking? No matter how vehemently he insisted that he was only accompanying his younger brother for Mokuba's sake, Kaiba knew that part of him had simply wanted to see Yami—no, _Atem_—again. He hated that fact, but it still remained frustratingly true.

What was he even planning on saying? There wasn't exactly a protocol on how to handle confronting a spirit after months of ignoring him, so Kaiba had to figure out something and fast. The view outside was becoming nothing but sand as the modern buildings faded from sight and every mile made Kaiba feel increasingly nervous. What the hell was he supposed to do?

At least he had the length of the card duel as a time buffer. They were probably going to show up halfway through the battle, but that was fine with Kaiba. It gave him more time to prepare himself for what would come afterward. He already knew the outcome of the battle, although he was a little curious about how Yuugi and Atem intended to fight when one of them wasn't exactly real. If Yuugi was playing the duel in his mind, Kaiba had better things to do than watch the kid's facial expressions change. "Why the hell did I agree to this?" Kaiba muttered with a heavy sigh.

Mokuba nervously looked up at his older brother and wondered if he was supposed to answer the question. Kaiba hadn't been looking at him when he spoke, but Mokuba still felt the need to softly reply, "Because it's important."

"Hn," Kaiba said dismissively with a snort. "Important for who?"

Sounding mature beyond his years, Mokuba answered, "For all of us." Even though his brother would never admit to it, it was definitely important to Kaiba, too. If he really didn't care, nothing would have swayed Kaiba once he made up his mind. Mokuba knew that Kaiba was just too stubborn to admit that the mou hitori no Yuugi was the closest thing to a friend that he had, but that was just how his older brother was.

Kaiba didn't say anything to that, mostly because he couldn't refute the statement. It was yet another thing that irritated him and he resumed his silent staring out the window. Kaiba Seto was supposed to care about no one other than himself and his little brother, so why did he concern himself with Atem?

He was so lost in his own circular thoughts that Kaiba didn't notice when the car finally came to a stop. It was only when he heard the driver say in heavily accented Japanese, "We've arrived," that Kaiba realized where they were. This part of the desert didn't look any different than the other expanses of dunes they had already passed, and yet something about it made Kaiba shiver despite the heat.

"Nii-sama, do you want me to bring your briefcase?" Mokuba volunteered, scrambling out of the car with it once his brother nodded. He reverently carried it, knowing that Kaiba's Duel Disk and deck were inside and Mokuba couldn't wait to see his older brother duel against the mou hitori no Yuugi.

The sense of foreboding from that morning returned full force and Kaiba watched as the extended Yuugi-tachi exited from an underground passage. It was only after Kaiba drew closer that he noticed that they were all crying. None of them had noticed him yet and Kaiba decided to make himself known by condescendingly asking, "Is defeat that painful?"

Yuugi looked up and squinted against the bright sun in order to see Kaiba. The tears started anew as he struggled to say, "No, it's just that he—"

It was only when Yuugi went to touch the Millennium Puzzle out of habit that Kaiba noticed its absence. "Where is he?" Kaiba demanded harshly, disgusted when the rest of the Yuugi-tachi started sniffling as well. "Where the fuck is Atem, Yuugi?"

Hearing Kaiba say Atem's true name startled Yuugi and he stared at the taller duelist who had come even closer. He hadn't told Mokuba over the phone and there was no other way for Kaiba to have found out, so Yuugi was more than just a little confused. "Kaiba-kun, how did you know that was his name?"

Hearing Atem referred to in past tense sparked a strange fear in Kaiba and an irritating desire to see that the former pharaoh was fine and very much present. "Answer my question," Kaiba commanded coldly, his patience having reached its limit.

"I—I don't know," Yuugi stuttered with a sniffle. "He walked through the doors and then—"

Isis interrupted to explain, "He returned to the place he belonged, Seto."

"No!" Kaiba growled, startling everyone. "He doesn't belong there!"

Approaching Kaiba in order to ask a question meant only for him, she looked him in the eyes when she spoke. "Is it that he doesn't belong there or that he doesn't belong there with _him_?"

Kaiba clenched his hands into tight fists, willing himself not to lose control in front of everyone. He glared at her with all of the hatred and anger he felt at the moment. "Isis, I'm warning you—"

Laughing quietly as she lightly touched the place where the Millennium Tauk used to rest, Isis showed no signs of being intimidated. "At least take comfort in the fact that some part of your soul will always remain with him," she told him solemnly before returning to Yuugi to say her goodbyes.

_Comfort_? The mere idea of it had Kaiba fuming. How was he supposed to take comfort in the fact that Atem was with Seto? No, what Kaiba wanted was for Atem—no, he wasn't supposed to want anything! He wasn't supposed to want Atem by his side, but he thought his rage was going to boil over at the thought of never seeing Atem again. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen! Atem couldn't possibly be gone. True, he wasn't technically supposed to exist, which would negate the impossibility of disappearing, but still. No, there had to be an answer in the underground duel ring, something that the rest of them had missed.

With his decision made, Kaiba walked purposefully toward the stairwell, causing Yuugi to yell, "No, Kaiba-kun! It's too dangerous to go in there!"

Mokuba rushed after his brother, but was stopped by Isis. "No harm will come to him in there," she reassured them, although they still looked wary of her promise.

Everyone watched in silence as Kaiba slowly disappeared into the dark passage and they all wondered the same thing: what was wrong with Kaiba?

Oblivious to the group's concern, Kaiba carefully made his way down the stairs, shivering as his fingers ran over the hieroglyphs on the wall. When he reached the landing, Kaiba finally had a little light to see his surroundings. The candles didn't provide much to go by since most of them had been blown out by the impact of the stone tablet's destruction, but it was enough.

Kaiba couldn't shake the feeling that he had been to this place before and he cautiously approached the giant stone door with the eye that had decorated all of the Millennium Items. Without understanding his own actions, Kaiba reached out and pressed his palm against the stone and was instantly shown a brief image of Atem walking into a bright light toward a large group of people who were waiting for him on the other side of the door. For a moment Kaiba thought he saw Seto smirk at him, but the image faded too quickly for him to be sure.

He refused to accept that something had happened to Atem. First off, there was no way that he would lose to Yuugi, so what had happened? Atem wasn't the type to just give up, so what other reason was there for him to have been defeated?

Kaiba tightened his hand into a fist and he banged it hard against the stone, trying to shock some sense back into himself. The pain caused him to wince, but did little to distract him from the problem of Atem's disappearance. "You were never real," Kaiba whispered to the darkness, almost as if trying to convince himself. But if Atem wasn't real, then why was the pain? Why did it hurt so damn much? There was a crushing pressure in his chest and suddenly Kaiba found it hard to breathe.

They would never finish their battle and that angered Kaiba. He had finally found a worthy rival only to lose the opportunity to duel against him. There would always be other competitors, but he inherently knew that no one else would ever make him feel so alive, feel so passionate in the midst of a fight. Would there really never be another chance to face off against Atem?

None of it was making any sense to Kaiba. Why had Yuugi been able to beat Atem? The other thing that Kaiba didn't understand was how Atem could just walk away from it all. Wasn't he always lecturing about the importance of friendship? So why did he leave everyone to return to a time that he said he no longer belonged in anymore? Hadn't he told Kaiba in his dream that he wanted to see him one last time? "Then why didn't you wait?" Kaiba demanded angrily, his nails digging into his palms.

The answer was simple: Atem probably thought that Kaiba would never have followed him to Egypt. What reason would he have to think any differently? Suddenly Kaiba was filled with a remorse that was borderline guilt. If he had come back to Domino sooner, would Atem have still left? Would it have changed anything? Was this what the priest had meant about Kaiba being responsible for changing Atem's mind about where he belonged?

Kaiba wanted to be angry at Seto for stealing Atem away, but that was ridiculous—especially if the former pharaoh had gone willingly. Had Kaiba's stubborn pride really cost him the only thing he had ever wanted?

His mind instantly rebelled against the selfish desire. Kaiba Seto was not supposed to want anything, but for some reason or another, something in him had fixated on Atem. It was wrong, but that changed nothing.

What did he want, anyway? Somewhere along the way it had become about more than just the duels. Did he really want something like those dreams for himself? That was impossible and yet…

Kaiba was filled with a sense of desperation that confused him. Had he actually just considered trying to recover the Millennium Puzzle from the gaping cavern it had fallen into in order to revive Atem? Somehow he knew that it would never work because Atem had moved on, but there had been that momentary glimmer of hope.

_Hope_? The very thought of it made Kaiba sneer at the ridiculousness of it. If Kaiba was going to, 'hope,' for anything, it would be to return to his senses. He had wasted too much time as it was with such ridiculous nonsense. Atem had apparently moved on and Kaiba should do the same, but for some reason he was still rooted to the spot.

The memory of Seto saying, "It seems that I have lost him in two lifetimes," came to mind and Kaiba struck out at the door with his fist. His bones cracked in the silence and he could already feel himself starting to bleed from his flesh scrapping against the stone, but he paid it no attention.

Kaiba refused to admit defeat, but it was becoming exceedingly difficult not to. He had lost to his former incarnation because Atem had chosen Seto over him. The past that he hated had defeated him by claiming Atem once more and Kaiba was having a hard time finding a victory for himself. He had been defeated in every way and it angered him because there would never be a chance for a rematch. Redemption would never be his, nor forgiveness. Then again, he had never earned it for his past transgressions because of Gozaburo, so why should Atem be any different?

_Because he is different_, Kaiba's mind answered, stubbornly refusing to refer to him in the past tense. Atem had always been different and held a place for Kaiba that no other had ever occupied, although he wasn't sure how that had happened. At some point Kaiba had even begun to enjoy Atem's company, but never again would that be allowed.

He was never supposed to be anything more than a rival, but Atem had somehow become something else. Kaiba would normally have berated himself for such foolishness, but there was no point now that Atem was gone. It shouldn't have been hard to accept that someone who was never real was now no longer in existence and yet it was proving harder than he would have ever imagined.

As much as Kaiba had protested Atem's existence, it was hard not to acknowledge him. That was because Kaiba had felt Atem's warmth and he could not deny it; strangely enough, he had never tried to. For a short time he had experienced the proof of Atem's existence, even if it had required Yuugi's body to act as a medium of sorts. He had never known that level of ease and Kaiba wondered if he ever would again.

No, he wouldn't allow himself to be so vulnerable ever again. _Wait,_ _vulnerable_? he repeated in his mind, unsure of where that adjective had originated. Kaiba Seto was never vulnerable; he couldn't afford to be. And yet Atem had worked past some of his strongest barriers without Kaiba even being aware of it. Was that because Atem had seen into his heart when he had subjected Kaiba to the Punishment Game? But if Atem had…if he had actually done such a thing, then he would have known what leaving would do to Kaiba.

Everything important to Kaiba had been taken away from him throughout his life and it left him unable to trust in anything other than himself. His parents, his childhood, his innocence, and even Gozaburo had all been ripped away from him. As much as he hated his adopted father, Kaiba had a begrudging sense of respect for the bastard in some ways; there had been a reason it had hurt the day he had stopped calling him, "father." It was just another lesson from Gozaburo, another thing taken away. Kaiba's enemies had tried to kidnap Mokuba on numerous occasions and there had been several attempts by other companies to take over Kaiba Corporation, but those events had always been under his control. And now Seto had taken Atem from him. Would the priest have still succeeded if Kaiba had fought back?

Kaiba had been so confident in Atem that it hadn't seemed possible for any other outcome and yet he had been defeated and returned to the priest. Maybe if he repeated it enough times, it would finally sink in that the unthinkable had actually happened.

Why was he struggling with this? He was quickly becoming annoyed with his newfound sentimentalism and Kaiba needed to stop. His behavior was appalling and he was grateful that there were no witnesses to his stupidity. Things could not be allowed to continue and he challenged himself to prove that none of this really mattered. Maybe it was a good thing that Atem was gone. He would no longer be a distraction; out of sight, out of mind. Now Kaiba could resume his normal life and pretend that none of this had ever happened. Besides, he was too busy to duel, so what did it matter if his main rival was there or not? Kaiba had no use for the past and if that was where Atem had chosen to be, then Kaiba had no use for Atem, either. Atem had made his decision, so now it was time for Kaiba to make his.

_He's gone, so get over it_, Kaiba told himself harshly, completely unprepared for the effect his words would have on him. It almost felt as if he had been punched in the stomach and his eyes widened in shock. Instantly Kaiba chastised himself for his own reaction. Hadn't he already known that? Thinking about the possibility of it and acknowledging it were apparently two very different things.

He forced himself to say out loud, "He's gone," and Kaiba could hardly believe that it was his voice that spoke those words. His tone lacked the authoritative announcement that he had intended; instead it was filled with weakness and wavered in disbelief.

Kaiba didn't understand the intensity of his own reaction. There were so many varied and overwhelming emotions when there should have been none. It was almost as if he were still under the influence of the priest and yet Kaiba knew that it was just him reacting; somehow that made things worse. No, this wasn't happening! Kaiba Seto was not going to be reduced to such a state over a single person who technically didn't even exist!

His resolve couldn't compete with the rush of feelings inside of him, unfortunately. It hurt more than all of his previous losses to Atem combined and Kaiba stared blankly at the stone in front of him as he sank to his knees, softly repeating, "He's gone."

_What will you do when you lose him?_ the priest's voice taunted in Kaiba's mind and he narrowed his eyes in reaction. Kaiba belatedly realized that he was trembling, but he could always blame that on the cooler temperature of the underground arena. There was no way that he would be physically affected by all of this. And yet the pain was intense and Kaiba felt a tightness in his throat when he accidentally whispered, "You're gone."

It was only then that Kaiba realized just how much he had lost. He closed his eyes to steady himself as he struggled to regain control, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the stone doors as his voice once again betrayed him with a sorrowful, "Atem."

Kaiba furrowed his eyebrows as he saw another vision, but he refused to open his eyes for fear of it disappearing.

_Atem turned when he thought he heard someone calling his name from the other side of the door. He started to take a step back, but was stopped when Seto grabbed his wrist. "What are you doing?" Atem asked with the slightest hint of annoyance in his tone._

"_You belong here now," Seto reminded, his grip tightening on Atem's slender wrist._

_Yanking himself free, Atem told him, "It might be aibou," as he started walking back over to the door. Seto just frowned and said nothing as he watched the pharaoh's retreating form._

_Once he was close enough, Atem reached out and touched the doors, stretching his senses beyond to discover who had tried to summon him for a final time. He stared in disbelief when he realized that it was Kaiba and not Yuugi who had called out to him and Atem pressed against the stone in an attempt to get closer. "You came," Atem said breathlessly with great joy that soon turned to sadness. If only he had waited just a little longer…_

_As if sensing his thoughts, Seto approached him and gently rested his hand on Atem's shoulder to give it a reassuring squeeze. "You cannot undo what has been done," Seto reminded him, although there was a slight edge in his voice as he examined the doors that had brought his pharaoh back to him._

"_I know," Atem confirmed to appease the agitated priest, touching his hand lightly before letting go. He subtly gestured for some distance and Seto begrudgingly complied; only then did Atem return his attention to Kaiba._

_Concentrating every ounce of spiritual energy into his actions, Atem tried to reach Kaiba beyond the doors between them. Gently caressing Kaiba's cheek, Atem willed his words to reach him as he once again promised, "I will find a way back to you." He could feel the faintest hint of Kaiba's complicated emotions and Atem wished for a way to comfort him. Attempting the impossible, Atem used the last of his rapidly depleting energy in order to brush against Kaiba's lips, hoping that his warmth reached across the divide. "Kaiba, I—"_

_Instinctually seizing on the link, Kaiba clung to the fragment of Atem that he could feel, wrapping his very soul around it as he held onto it. Without even realizing what he was doing, Kaiba tugged on the fragment and tried to pull it closer to him. He felt something move, so he tried it again with as much force as he could figure out how to use. With a final yank, Kaiba tried to picture Atem coming through the doors and back to his side where he belonged. _

_Kaiba felt a solid warmth in his hand, a feeling that he focused on as he held on tightly and refused to let go as he pulled hard. _

Suddenly Kaiba felt himself stumbling back as the doors parted before him and he was hit hard with the full force of a body colliding with his. Staring down in disbelief, he saw Atem embracing him as the doors swung close once more with a loud sound of finality. Kaiba caught the briefest glimpse of the priest staring at them in disbelief before it faded away and he had to focus on the impossible being in his arms that was still dressed in full pharaoh regalia.

He held on tightly for a few heartbeats, his soul feeling triumphant over what he had somehow managed to do before the reality of everything kicked in too fast and things started to become a messy blur in his head. Shoving Atem away hard, Kaiba harshly demanded, "What the fuck is your problem?"

Blinking rapidly as he tried to understand what had just happened, Atem inarticulately asked, "What?"

"_What_?" Kaiba icily repeated, his tone sounding threatening enough to make Atem take another step back from him. "You seriously have to ask what after what you just did?"

"But I came back," Atem defended himself.

"Only because I made you," Kaiba snapped, his anger hitting him with full force as he realized just how close he had come to losing Atem for good. "What were you _thinking_? How could you just give up and—?"

Embracing Kaiba once more to interrupt his flow of words, Atem apologized, "I'm sorry," repeatedly, but it still wasn't enough to curb Kaiba's ire.

"And you think that just somehow magically makes it all better?" Kaiba demanded, his voice echoing loudly in the chambers as he pushed Atem away again. "You _left_!"

"Because I thought I could never have you!" Atem shot back, feeling the need to defend himself, even though it was a weak defense in Kaiba's eyes.

"So it was just easier to run away?" Kaiba incredulously asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Isn't that exactly what you did by going to America?" Atem countered, some heat coming into his voice. "You left first because you couldn't handle what happened between us that night! Admit it!"

"I admit _nothing_," Kaiba spat, even though the words hit a little too close to home for comfort because that's exactly what he had done.

Realizing that fighting was getting them nowhere, Atem tried to change tactics by questioning, "So you won't admit that you want me?"

"Nonsense," Kaiba replied, even though the word cut deeply into him as the voice inside of him that sounded suspiciously like the priest whispered otherwise.

"Then why did you come here?" Atem demanded to know.

"To defeat you after your fight with Yuugi," Kaiba easily answered, since that was the truth—not the whole truth, but _a_ truth all the same. It was easier to admit to than the actual reason he had reached out across the void for Atem.

Frowning at the answer, Atem asked, "So it had nothing to do with the dream last night?"

"That wasn't real!" Kaiba protested, still feeling too raw on the subject of what he had woken up from that very morning.

"It was!" Atem insisted. "I pulled you from the priest's dream into mine on the platform of the Dueling Blimp and—"

Kaiba interrupted to exclaim, "No!" He couldn't handle the ramifications of the dream proving to be real at the moment. Kaiba was too unbalanced as it was; the truth might push him over the edge of reason.

"—then we went into your bedroom and—"

"Stop!" Kaiba shouted, not willing to hear the dream spelled out so clearly.

"No!" Atem refused, not willing to let Kaiba run away from him again. "You showed me what it was like to be alive and—"

"I did no such thing!" Kaiba interjected again to contradict. It was all coming flooding back to him and Kaiba couldn't handle it on top of everything else that was happening between them right now.

"—I'm not willing to let you go again," Atem continued as if Kaiba had never said anything. "I said goodbye once and that was a mistake."

"You were willing to walk away once, why wouldn't you again?" Kaiba questioned, hating himself for revealing a weakness that way.

"Because you're here right now, in front of me," Atem answered as he closed the distance between them. "And I'm not letting you run away from me again."

"Please, don't think so highly of yourself," Kaiba arrogantly commented, although he stood his ground as Atem approached, even though some part of him wanted to bolt.

"Kaiba," Atem whispered as he reached up and stroked Kaiba's cheek as he had done from across the void, letting his thumb reach down and trail over those lush lips that he so desperately wanted to kiss.

The perfection of the moment paralyzed Kaiba and he stood in shock as Atem leaned up and kissed him slowly, then deeply. Kaiba responded to it before he could tell himself not to and his hands found purchase on either side of Atem's face as he indulged himself as he had in his dreams. He drowned in the very taste and feel of Atem, so like the dream and yet so different, still so perfect. But then reality kicked in and Kaiba shoved Atem away from him again. "Stop it," Kaiba ordered, his voice sounding raw from too many emotions trying to make themselves known.

"No," Atem refused, trying to go in for another kiss and getting pushed back again. "I'm not willing to let you disappear from me again!"

"I wasn't the one that left!" Kaiba growled.

"But you were," Atem countered, "when you went to America instead of staying and facing me like a man."

"You're walking dangerous grounds," Kaiba warned, his pride smarting from the accusation and the reality behind it.

"So are you," Atem shot back, his pride also taking a hit. "Are you really willing to lose me again now that I'm back?"

The thought made it hard to breathe and Kaiba struggled to get back in control of himself. "That implies that I have you," Kaiba retorted, trying to find anything to keep some distance between himself and the emotions that were threatening to engulf him completely.

"And you do," Atem reassured him as he once again dared to press close and invade Kaiba's personal space. "I'm yours if you'll have me."

"Bullshit," Kaiba instinctively denied, not believing it in the least since he had just seen how easily Atem had walked away. But it was hard to maintain his resolve so close to crimson and it was harder to think with that lithe body so close to his. It made him want to reach out and hold Atem, prevent him from ever leaving again, but the idea was such a foreign concept to Kaiba that it stilled his hands, prevented him from being so bold as to transgress his very ideals of solitude.

"Then tell me you don't want me," Atem challenged, knowing that Kaiba was many things, but a liar wasn't one of them.

Stubbornly setting his jaw, Kaiba wanted to outright deny it and found that he couldn't. So it was better to say nothing at all, in his opinion.

"You can't say it, can you?" Atem victoriously questioned, knowing exactly what that silence meant.

"I don't _need_ you," Kaiba insisted, having to say something to preserve his dignity.

"That's different from not wanting me," Atem pointed out with a knowing look. "And I'd argue that you do need me."

"On what grounds?" Kaiba scoffed, finding the very notion ridiculous. Kaiba Seto needed no one other than his brother to survive.

"Because I'm your only rival, the only one worthy of standing at your side," Atem explained.

"If that's true, then why did you leave me?" Kaiba demanded, knowing his point had trumped Atem's.

Looking down in shame, Atem once again defended his actions, "Because I thought you'd never have me. You _left_ and—"

"—and so you just gave up and decided to try and hack it with the priest," Kaiba interrupted to finish.

"That's not true!" Atem protested. "There was just nowhere else for me to belong if not by your side."

"So you thought he was a better alternative than waiting?" Kaiba questioned in a harsh voice, unaware of how much of his hurt was making itself known.

"I didn't know what to think anymore," Atem said, having thoroughly confused himself on the point in the interim of Kaiba's absence. "All I knew is that you weren't there and—"

"And so you ran away," Kaiba accused him once again. "And I'm supposed to applaud you for returning? Just shrug my shoulders and accept you now?"

"No, but—"

"And what would have happened if I hadn't been here to bring you back to where you rightfully belong?" Kaiba continued, unaware of what he was accidentally admitting in his rage.

"I promised you that I would return to your side," Atem defended himself.

"Then why bother leaving at all?" Kaiba shot back, flushing in his anger.

Atem didn't have an answer for that and it pained him. "I just…I don't—there was no other—" Atem tried to say, but his words were failing him when he needed them the most.

"Did you forfeit the fight?" Kaiba asked, switching topics suddenly and confusing Atem.

"What? Of course not," Atem heatedly denied, his pride smarting at the accusation. "I would never do something like that!"

"Then how did he beat you?" Kaiba wanted to know. "He's not that good of a duelist on his own. Not against someone like you."

The truth was that he had been too emotional to focus properly on the fight, the maelstrom swirling inside of him taking precedence despite his best efforts to prevent that from happening. "He fought well, which you would have known if you had _been_ here," Atem retorted, getting in a dig at Kaiba's late appearance.

"And if I had been here with the rest of your stupid little friends, would you have won?" Kaiba asked.

It was a fair question and one that Atem didn't know how to answer. It very well could have made a difference in the outcome of the fight, but Atem wasn't about to admit that to Kaiba. "There's no way of knowing," Atem replied, rather than confirming or denying what he knew could be true.

"I don't believe you," Kaiba said, not realizing the arrogance of the statement and what it meant about the importance of him in Atem's life.

"All I need you to believe is that I want to be with you here and now," Atem countered, knowing that was most important.

"What difference does it make what you want when you were willing to walk away from it all for such stupid reasons?" Kaiba asked, causing Atem to want to bash his head into the nearest wall at the sheer stubbornness of his refusal to listen to reason.

"Because I'm here now and that's what matters," Atem insisted, wondering if he repeated it enough that maybe Kaiba would believe it. "Why can't you accept that?"

Even though it pained him to say, the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, "Because you of all people should know what leaving would do to me. When you shattered my heart, when you saw all that I was, you should have known then what abandoning me would mean. And yet you still left anyway."

"But that was only people that you cared about," Atem said in confusion until he realized what it meant. The enormity of what he had done to Kaiba hit him hard and Atem was reaching out to try and comfort him, only to be rebuffed.

"I don't need you and I certainly don't need your pity," Kaiba growled as he stepped back from Atem's grasps.

"I—"

"No," Kaiba cut him off, not wanting to hear any more. "You brought this on yourself."

"You act like you had no part in this!" Atem exclaimed, not liking how Kaiba was implying he was the only one affected. "What do you think leaving me for months without a single word did, huh? When I was locked away from _millennia _in silence—?"

Interrupting Atem once more, Kaiba told him, "It's not the same thing."

"It is!" Atem insisted. "Why can't we both admit that we reacted badly and move on?"

"Because it's not that easy," Kaiba answered, knowing that his hurt ran too deep, even though he'd never openly admit to that fact.

"But it could be," Atem countered, needing Kaiba to see reason. He hated fighting with Kaiba and it was painful in more ways than one to endure that level of animosity.

"You should know more than anyone I'm not that kind of person," Kaiba said. He wasn't one to so easily forget a slight and this was far beyond a simple misunderstanding.

"All you're doing is hurting yourself," Atem told him, needing Kaiba to see that.

"How is that any different than what you just did?" Kaiba wanted to know.

Atem opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come. Closing it as he once again reached out to try and sooth Kaiba with comfort beyond words, Atem managed to embrace him once more, burrowing against his strong chest and inhaling deeply. "Why are we going to repeat our mistakes?" Atem asked in a mournful voice as he looked up at Kaiba in a pleading way.

It moved Kaiba's heart despite his best attempts to guard it and that couldn't be allowed. His everything was urging him to forgive Atem and kiss those sweet lips once more, but Kaiba couldn't let himself do that. It was too much, too fast and it was all starting to catch up with him in a roar of deafening emotions. "Maybe because they're not mistakes," Kaiba replied, trying and failing to put some distance between them. "Maybe that's just how it's supposed to be."

"I refuse to believe that!" Atem heatedly exclaimed. "Not when I've tasted your passion, not when I've felt your—"

Kaiba was startled when Atem interrupted himself and leaned up to capture his lips in a passionate kiss that he responded to despite his best efforts not to. His hands traitorously reached out to hold onto Atem's hips that were bare due to the accouterments of his position as pharaoh that had slid low on him. It made him gasp into the kiss and Atem refused to let up, using his tongue to invade Kaiba's mouth and kiss him hard in an attempt to get him to succumb to his desires. Kaiba was powerless to stop the heat that coursed through his veins and the want that rocketed through his system as Atem pressed close to him and he felt the start of arousal beginning to stir. It was so much better than the dreams and even more so because it was actually happening in reality. But it was for that very reason that it had to stop and Kaiba forcibly pulled himself away, putting more distance between them as he panted from the aftermath of passion. However, Atem wasn't letting go so easily and he followed, this time kissing his way along Kaiba's neck with his lips and eyelashes, sending shivers through the taller teen.

"You can't tell me that you don't want me, that you don't want _this_," Atem told Kaiba before boldly cupping his growing arousal through his pants.

"That doesn't matter," Kaiba snapped as he brushed Atem's hand away, mortified by his body's betrayal.

"It does!" Atem insisted, trying to get Kaiba to see reason. "It does and you know it!"

"All that matters is that you left," Kaiba stubbornly repeated, unable to move past that. It didn't matter how much he wanted to capture Atem's lips in a sweet kiss or how much he longed to feel that body undulating under his, it couldn't be allowed to happen. Turning away from Atem, Kaiba started to leave, needing to put distance between himself and what was quickly turning into an enormous problem, because it was too hard to walk away, but it was too hard to stay. Nothing was making any sense anymore and Kaiba needed to put some distance between them so he could clear his head without having to contend with Atem's divine kisses or talented hands.

Reaching out and grabbing Kaiba's arm, Atem held on tightly when he tried to pull away. "This isn't over, Kaiba," Atem told him, refusing to believe that Kaiba was choosing to walk away so easily.

"It is for me," Kaiba declared, trusting that his resolve was good enough to stay away. "I want nothing further to do with you."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Atem exclaimed, tightening his grip when Kaiba tried to pull away again. "If you wanted nothing to do with me, you wouldn't have come down here at all, let alone found a way to bring me back! Why would you do that if you want nothing to do with me?"

It was a valid point and one that galled Kaiba with its accuracy. "Regardless," Kaiba started to say only to get cut off again.

"No, you don't just get to walk away and pretend like this never happened!" Atem yelled at him, his anger causing him to raise his voice. "Not again!"

"And what are you going to do to stop me?" Kaiba wanted to know.

Once again embracing Kaiba tightly, Atem pleaded, "Please don't leave me again. I can't take it."

"If you couldn't take it, then why did you leave before?" Kaiba demanded and this time Atem cursed in frustration. "You're just going to have to learn to live with it."

"I refuse to accept that," Atem swore, not giving up so easily now that he had returned.

Shrugging, Kaiba said, "Do what you want. It has nothing to do with me."

"It has everything to do with you!" Atem insisted, trying to get Kaiba to see reason yet again and failing. "Why can't you accept that?"

"I've already explained myself and if you're too stupid to comprehend that, then—"

"Damn it, Kaiba!" Atem exclaimed, holding on tighter when he tried to walk away. "Stop doing this to us!"

"There is no _us_!" Kaiba hissed as he finally managed to free himself. "There's only you and your stupid decisions that you have to live with."

The words hurt to hear and Atem could only watch sadly as Kaiba walked away from him. "Then why both bringing me back at all if you're just going to leave me?" Atem whispered to the surrounding silence as he fell to his knees, feeling the pain of the action deep in his heart. Still, he refused to give up so easily on Kaiba. No, he would persist and see things through this time. He wouldn't make the same mistake on his second chance of redemption. No, he had come too far to turn back now.

Forcing himself to get up off the floor, Atem hurried after Kaiba and braced himself for an awkward reunion.

* * *

**A/N:** It is called _Endless Loop _for more than one reason~.

The idea for an alternative ending for _Endless Loop _came to me a little while ago and this is the product of it. So it's basically a chose whichever ending works best for you situation. It will only be four chapters long like the previous two stories.

**PART II:**

_They had come too far to turn back now._

The next chapter will be uploaded on **Sunday, May 4th**. Until then I look forward to your reviews!


	2. Part II: From Now

**Chapter II: From Now**

Blinking owlishly as he emerged from the dark underground arena to the brightness of the Egyptian afternoon, Kaiba inhaled deeply as he tried to steady himself. He mentally cursed when he head Atem call out, "Kaiba, wait!"

Ignoring the command, Kaiba kept walking, and was startled when he felt Atem's body collide with his from behind. "I'm not giving up," Atem swore, even as Kaiba tried to physically pry his arms from around his waist.

"Do what you want, it has nothing to do with me," Kaiba growled, annoyed by the fact that he had been followed, despite recognizing that Atem staying in the dueling arena was a foolish concept.

"I _will_ change your mind," Atem promised. "We were meant to be together."

"Why, because you were together with that idiot priest in the past?" Kaiba asked in disgust.

"No, because—" Atem started to say, but Mokuba came rushing over to them and interrupted.

"Nii-sama, what—?" Mokuba stared to ask, but his words failed him when Atem stepped from behind Kaiba and made his appearance. "_What_?"

"Hey, Mokuba-kun," Atem said as casually as possible, drawing the attention of the Yuugi-tachi who reacted in varying degrees of disbelief.

"But you…" Yuugi tried to say as he approached, but words failed him as he stared at Atem.

Smiling understandingly, Atem said, "I came back."

"I can see that, but _why_?" Yuugi asked, unaware that Kaiba was still wondering the same thing.

"I realized that I still had some…_unfinished_ business left," Atem carefully stated, wishing he could meet Kaiba's gaze, which was still turned away from him.

Kaiba made a scoffing noise that was ignored by everyone as they engulfed Atem in a flurry of welcoming him back to the land of the living.

Kaiba couldn't take it anymore and started to walk away, only to be stopped by Isis. "I am not surprised that—" she started to say, only to be cut off by a rude laugh from Kaiba.

"Like I give a shit what you think?" Kaiba scornfully asked her.

Shrugging her shoulders, Isis cautioned, "Do not waste your final chance."

"Don't tell me what to do," Kaiba snapped, his anger too close to the surface because of everything that had just happened.

Isis merely laughed it off as she walked away, further serving to irritate Kaiba. Muttering some choice words under his breath, Kaiba was caught off guard by his brother running up to him and excitedly asking, "Isn't this great, nii-sama?"

It was many things, but "great" wasn't one of them, in Kaiba's opinion.

When Kaiba said nothing, Mokuba continued, "Now you can finally have your rematch!"

"Yeah," Kaiba replied without enthusiasm. At the moment he wanted nothing to do with Atem; he was too unbalanced. It was horrifying to Kaiba that he was torn between holding onto Atem tightly and pushing him away for good. It never should have been an issue and yet Kaiba couldn't suppress that twisted part of him that wanted to make his dreams a reality.

"Nii-sama?" Mokuba hesitantly prompted. "Is everything okay?"

Appreciating that his brother knew better than to ask if _he_ was okay, Kaiba did his best to reassure Mokuba, "It's fine."

"I can't believe you managed to bring him back," Mokuba commented in awe. "How did you do it?"

Shrugging, Kaiba found he couldn't answer his brother. He didn't know how or why he had done what he did; it had just happened.

Oblivious to his brother's inner turmoil, Mokuba continued gushing, "Nii-sama is so awesome!"

Mokuba was interrupted from further commentary when Atem approached. Kaiba was distracted by the sway of Atem's hips, the confident way he carried himself, a grace that was so different than when he was trapped in Yuugi's body. It made Kaiba scowl at himself for being so easily distracted, but there was just so much tempting skin on display that he wanted to touch and—no, those thoughts had to stop!

"We need to talk," Atem told Kaiba when he was close enough.

"I've said everything I had to say," Kaiba icily told him, trying—and largely _failing_ not being distracted by Atem. His mind was a jumbled mess and Kaiba knew he desperately needed time alone to sort himself out and make sense of it all. Not that any of it made any damn sense.

Atem looked at Mokuba briefly before returning his gaze to watch Kaiba carefully, knowing he was limited in what he could say because of their witness. "Well I haven't," Atem simply said, hoping he could convince Kaiba.

"Then that's your problem, not mine," Kaiba callously stated, surprising Mokuba.

"Nii-sama," Mokuba pleaded, knowing it was important for him to talk to Atem. "Please—"

"No," Kaiba automatically refused, still looking at Atem. "I want nothing to do with you, I told you."

Frowning at his older brother, Mokuba said, "Surely you don't mean that. You'll never have your rematch that way."

"Stay out of it, Mokuba," Kaiba ordered, not interested in listening to a voice of reason.

"He's right," Atem stated as he pointed to the briefcase full of cards that Mokuba was still carrying around with him. "Isn't that why you really came here today?"

Kaiba could feel himself starting to waver and he hated it. "That doesn't matter anymore," Kaiba flatly denied, even though on the inside he was burning to fight against Atem once more.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Atem declared, "You don't mean that."

"Stop acting like you know everything!" Kaiba snapped, unaware of how he was starting to tremble from the full force of his complicated emotions.

"But I do know what you really want," Atem murmured as he reached out to touch Kaiba, who immediately swatted away the touch.

Narrowing his eyes at Atem, Kaiba hissed, "You know _nothing_. Absolutely nothing!"

"I know that I hurt you," Atem stated, aching to hold Kaiba and make it all better. "And for that, I am truly sorry."

"Don't be so presumptuous," Kaiba sneered, "and don't act like saying, 'Sorry,' fixes everything just like that!"

"Then let me show you," Atem pleaded, both with his voice and expressive crimson eyes.

It moved something deep inside of Kaiba, but he did his best to resist against it. It caused him to harshly tell Atem, "You lost that chance when you left."

Before Atem could defend himself, Mokuba protested, "But he's back now and that's what matters most."

"I said stay out of it," Kaiba sharply reprimanded his younger brother.

"No, he's right," Atem agreed. "Why can't you focus on that?"

"Because that's not what matters the most to me," Kaiba defended himself.

"Aren't you the one that always denounces the past as unimportant, that it's the here and now that matter the most?" Atem challenged. "Shouldn't you being moving forward instead of looking back at what's already done and over with?"

It was irritatingly sound logic to Kaiba and he bit back a growl of annoyance at that fact. "My future no longer involves you," Kaiba cruelly stated.

"How can you say that?" Atem asked with a hurt tone.

The sound of Atem's voice tugged painfully at Kaiba's heart, but he did his best to struggle against it. "Easily," Kaiba replied, although that wasn't entirely true. No, not so long as there was a part of him that still wanted to gather Atem in a tight embrace and never let him go again.

"Why are you hurting yourself this way?" Atem asked, trying to get Kaiba to come around to reason.

"How is this any worse than what you just did?" Kaiba demanded. "Aren't I giving you exactly what you wanted? To be alone?"

Shocked that Kaiba had inadvertently admitted to being hurt by his actions, Atem quickly recovered and insisted, "No, what I want is you—"

"Enough!" Kaiba interrupted to exclaim, not wanting to hear anything further that might change his mind.

"No, it's not!" Atem fought back, refusing to give up on what mattered so much right now.

"That's not for you to decide," Kaiba shot back, getting riled up again.

"Nor is it yours alone to decide," Atem argued. "I have some say in this, too!"

Snorting rudely, Kaiba asked, "What say do you have?"

"Plenty!" Atem exclaimed, still trying to convince Kaiba to change his views. "Besides, you have no ground to stand on when you're the one that left first!"

"I wasn't planning on leaving _permanently_," Kaiba defended himself with a disdainful sniff. "You clearly were ready to move on for an eternity."

"I didn't know that you—" Atem started to say, but stopped himself when he looked over at Mokuba. There were certain things that the younger teen didn't need to hear about just yet and it curbed what Atem was going to argue.

"That I what?" Kaiba pressed, needing to hear the answer and yet not wanting to all at the same time. His internal war of feelings about Atem was getting messier and he thoroughly disliked it.

"I didn't know that you cared," Atem forced himself to say, hoping it would make a difference. "If I had known…"

"Who says I care?" Kaiba harshly demanded, although he immediately regretted the question. It sounded stupid to his own ears and it was bound to be true for Atem as well.

Frowning at Kaiba, Atem pointed out, "If you didn't care, you wouldn't be fighting this hard against the hurt."

Crossing his arms defensively over his chest, Kaiba stubbornly set his jaw as he stared down Atem, trying to formulate his next plan of action. Finally he asked, "It clearly didn't matter then, so why does it suddenly matter now?"

"Because I'm here now," Atem told him as he narrowed the distance between them, sensing progress. "Let's—"

"No," Kaiba immediately refused, trying not to feel the surging emotions that were demanding he finish closing the distance between them and have his way with Atem. It was an annoying reaction and Kaiba wished it would stop.

"You didn't even let me finish," Atem complained, wishing he could get Kaiba to cooperate with him.

"Because whatever you were going to say was bound to be ridiculous," Kaiba argued.

Placing his hands on Kaiba's arms and unfolding them, Atem took his larger hands in his and pleaded, "Kaiba, _please_."

Kaiba's fingers twitched in the hold, but he found he couldn't pull free from the loose grip. The small point of contact had him completely paralyzed and he stood there frozen as he stared down at Atem, trying to keep above his emotional turmoil. "Please what?" Kaiba gruffly questioned, once again caught between needing to know and not wanting to.

"Please—" Atem started to say before Jounouchi's voice calling out to him interrupted him.

"Hey guys, come on! You can talk back at the hotel! Let's get out of the sun!" Jounouchi loudly called over to them, tired of waiting for whatever was happening in the distance from the rest of the Yuugi-tachi.

It was enough of a distraction for Kaiba to break his hold of Atem, although he instantly was mourning the loss of contact, stupid as it was. Mokuba was quick to scurry away over to Jounouchi, but Atem patiently remained as he tried to get in one final point, "Neither of us are blameless in this, Kaiba. We should move on with the now instead of trying to blame each other for something that doesn't matter anymore."

"Whatever," Kaiba dismissively said as he started to walk away, although inside his heart was pounding with pain at leaving Atem behind him.

Atem hurried after Kaiba, still unsure of where he stood with his rival. Regardless, he was not giving up this time and he would continue pursuing him until he came around to what Atem wanted—what they both wanted. They had come too far to turn back now.

* * *

**A/N:** It's called "Endless Loop" for a reason~. Progress will be made in the next part, that I can promise.

I am very thankful for your support with this alternative ending venture and I just wanted to say thanks once more for being so wonderfully thoughtful and kind in your reviews. It means the world to me and reminds me why I'm still doing this all these years later. Things have been pretty rough for me here lately, so know that your reviews are a bright spot for me in an otherwise dark time. I thank you most sincerely.

Unfortunately my review replies will be going out tomorrow instead of today (provided work cooperates with me), so please forgive the delay on those. I figured you would rather have a new chapter than answers, so hopefully that's okay.

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"_So, are you willing to listen?" Atem asked, hoping for a positive answer. _

The only other hint I will give is that the next chapter is what earns this story its M rating. It will be posted on **Sunday, May 18th**, so please look forward to it! In the meantime, I look forward to your reviews!


	3. Part III: Always After

**A/N:** This chapter is filled with **lemons aplenty**, so please be aware of that before continuing.

* * *

**Part III: Always After**

Kaiba's irritation was at a maximum as he stared down at Atem in his private sanctuary of a room on his personal plane. Because of the lack of paperwork to prove Atem's existence, it had been decided that he would accompany Kaiba back since he had fewer restrictions on security checks due to landing in a private airfield that was more lax than the regular airport would be. That, and the only place they could get any privacy on the plane was in his room, thus they came to be there together, away from the prying eyes of Mokuba who didn't need to see or hear what they had to say to each other.

"You can glare at me all you want, it doesn't change the fact that I'm here," Atem told Kaiba, trying to get him to lighten up some.

"Not by my choice," Kaiba muttered as he looked away temporarily; it was just so hard to think being close to crimson.

"You could have refused," Atem pointed out, relieved and grateful that Kaiba hadn't chose to do so.

"Yeah, well…." Kaiba trailed off, knowing that he could have and yet he never would have. Besides, dealing with the whole of the Yuugi-tachi and his brother was beyond his tolerance level at the moment. At least this way it was just one problem to deal with instead of numerous ones.

"So are we actually going to talk about this?" Atem asked, hoping that he would get a positive answer.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Kaiba countered, "Haven't you said enough already?"

"I'm going to keep talking until you're willing to listen," Atem replied, knowing that it was too important to let go of now.

If it meant shutting Atem up, then Kaiba was willing to sacrifice some time to listen. Besides, what else did he have to keep himself occupied with for the long flight back to Japan. His eyes immediately stayed to the large bed that occupied most of the rom, his thoughts taking a turn to the perverse that was quickly curbed. It wouldn't do to think about such things when Atem was so close.

As if sensing the direction of his thoughts, Atem sat on the bed and leaned back on his arms as he looked up at Kaiba. "So, are you willing to listen?" Atem asked, hoping for a positive answer.

"If this is about who left first…." Kaiba warned, not interested in saying anything more on the topic. It galled him that Atem had a valid point and it wouldn't help him to keep harping on it.

"I think we've covered that," Atem said with a quiet laugh, his mirth quickly fading away. "No, I want to talk about us."

"There is no _us_," Kaiba reflexively countered as he had in the dueling arena, appalled by the very thought of it.

"But there could be," Atem emphatically insisted.

Rolling his eyes at the very thought, Kaiba sarcastically asked, "So because of a few visions with that idiot priest, you think there's suddenly an us? Don't waste my time."

Surprised that Kaiba had willingly acknowledged the visions at all, Atem clarified, "I'm talking about yesterday's dream."

"It didn't happen," Kaiba immediately protested, unable to stand the thought that he had shared such an intimate dream with someone like Atem. He had acted a little beyond his character in the dream and it would have been an unforgivably egregious lapse on his part had anyone witnessed it, let alone someone like his rival.

"It did and you know it," Atem told Kaiba, unwilling to let him run away from it. "Why bother trying to deny it?"

"Because there's no way we shared a dream," Kaiba replied, finding the very concept ridiculous.

Shifting positions on the bed slightly, Atem told him, "There is and we did. I saw your passion, your—"

"Shut up!" Kaiba interrupted to exclaim, not wanting to hear it said out loud.

"No," Atem refused, knowing that they were words that needed to be said. "It was amazing and I'm not going to let you pretend otherwise."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Kaiba demanded, knowing that he could be plenty stubborn enough to do exactly that for as long as it took to will it into submission.

Standing up and approaching with a grace that temporarily distracted him, Atem closed the distance between them as he kissed Kaiba. When Kaiba tried to move away, Atem embedded his fingers in lush brunette hair and pulled him closer still as he deepened the kiss. It was too much for Kaiba to resist and he unwillingly got caught up in it. There was just something too damn enjoyable about those pliant lips against his, that talented tongue dueling his as their bodies pressed close together. What they did in the dream paled in comparison to the reality of the situation and that little traitorous voice in the back of his mind whispered about how much better the rest of it would be if he would only give into his desires.

When they parted for breath, Kaiba accidentally continued kissing Atem because his body did not harbor the same protests as his mind. He cupped a hand on the side of Atem's face and plundered his willing mouth, holding back a moan when his rival's free hand groped Kaiba's ass hard. He could feel the start of Atem's arousal against him and it was enough to distract Kaiba as he tried to detangle himself from Atem. "No," he weakly protested, knowing he was fighting a losing battle with his desires. "We can't—"

"Why?" Atem harshly demanded, wanting to continue from where they had just stopped.

"Because this isn't right," Kaiba insisted, needing to put barriers between him and what he really wanted. It just couldn't be allowed, but damn if it wasn't the most tempting thing to him.

"What about this isn't right?" Atem wanted to know.

"You're my rival," he replied, as if that somehow prevented Atem from ever being anything else to Kaiba.

"That doesn't stop me from being your lover," Atem pointed out, scowling when the comment made Kaiba burst into laughter.

"As if I had need of such a thing?" Kaiba questioned, finding the very idea absurd. "This Kaiba Seto needs no one!"

"You're deluding yourself," Atem accused him, knowing that Kaiba needed him. "You need me more than you can even understand."

"Nonsense," Kaiba dismissively said.

"You need this," Atem insisted as he leaned up for another kiss that Kaiba hated himself for surrendering to so easily. But it was just so damn tempting…

Sounding more breathless than he would have liked, Kaiba remembered to deny, "No, I don't."

"I don't believe you," Atem said as he stole another soul searing kiss.

It made Kaiba ache inside as his hands unconsciously sought out Atem's lithe body, holding onto his slim hips to try and ground himself from the overwhelming rush of feelings that were threatening to overtake him. "This isn't happening," Kaiba tried to protest, wondering why he was always so easily defeated by Atem regardless of the type of battle it was.

"Yes, it is," Atem shot back, refusing to let Kaiba continue stubbornly protesting what was very real.

When Kaiba opened his mouth to say something else, Atem sealed his lips with his own, causing him to nip at the invading tongue. It didn't deter Atem; if anything it heightened his arousal. He hooked his fingers in Kaiba's belt loops and tugged him closer, slowly edging them toward the bed without the taller teen even noticing until they were bumping up against it. Atem wasted no time in shoving him hard onto the bed and straddling himself over Kaiba. Looking down at him with a beautiful arrogance that made Kaiba achingly hard, Atem challenged him, "Tell me you don't want this," as he lightly rocked his hips against the arousal pressing against him.

"I don't want you," Kaiba said, even though his voice lacked the conviction he thought he should feel.

"Bullshit," Atem denounced, refusing to believe that. Running his hand along Kaiba's hardness, Atem smirked triumphantly when he heard his sharp intake of breath. "Why can't you just be honest with yourself?"

It was hard to think with Atem's hand slowly working his length and Kaiba finally had to swat it away so he could focus on forming a sentence. "I'm not lying," Kaiba defended himself. "You're a needless complication that I don't need in my life."

"But you do need me," Atem insisted as he leaned forward and pinned Kaiba to the bed completely. "You need me almost as much as you need _this_." To demonstrate his point, Atem rolled his hips against Kaiba's in a mockery of what else they could be doing at the moment. "Why deny yourself?"

"Because I don't—" Kaiba started to say, but he was distracted when Atem stripped off his shirt and tossed it to the floor. The sight of so much glorious tan skin on display made it hard to remember what he was going to say, especially when he unwittingly reached out to caress that tempting bare flesh. It made Atem shiver with want and he started to kiss Kaiba's neck in reward as things finally started to move in the right direction.

A gasp escaped Kaiba as he felt Atem's lips on his neck and the fluttering of his eyelashes on his skin. He was becoming more and more aroused, which led to him becoming more and more frustrated with his inability to resist Atem. Why was it so hard to put a stop to things?

_Because you want this_, the voice inside of him whispered, sounding suspiciously like the priest. And damn if Kaiba did want it, wanted it more than anything in his entire life. It was so close, too, just waiting for him to act. But acting meant committing and that was a dangerous thing for Kaiba, an unknown and unwanted thing that he instinctually wanted to avoid. But still, his fingers slowly trailed along Atem's back, causing his rival to arch beautifully with a breathy sigh at the simple pleasure. It escalated Kaiba's desires and he suddenly wanted—no, _needed_—more.

Acting before he even realized that he was moving, Kaiba had reversed their positions and Atem could only blink in surprise at ending up on his back on the bed. He didn't say anything as he waited for Kaiba's next move and he was pleased when it was to murmur, "Shut up," before kissing him deeply. Atem wrapped his arms around Kaiba's neck as he indulged in the kiss, declining to say anything about the fact that he hadn't spoken at all. It just didn't seem that important when he had Kaiba's tongue to contend with at the moment.

Kaiba felt like he was drowning in Atem and he had to take a moment to breathe before he got totally swept away. Wasn't he supposed to be protesting this? Wasn't he supposed to continue resisting this? But it felt so good, felt so right that it was hard to keep up the resistance when Atem was so beautiful underneath him.

Kaiba was startled from his thoughts when Atem reached down and slowly started to slide his shirt up and off, the drag of fabric against skin feeling exquisite when combined with his exploring fingers. It was cast aside and quickly forgotten about as Atem returned his hands to Kaiba's back, trailing his fingers along the length of his spine. It made Kaiba shudder and he failed to hold back a groan when Atem groped his ass hard and thrust up against him at the same time, causing his hips to buck against that answering hardness. Suddenly Kaiba was very grateful for the fact that the droning of the large engines on the plane drowned out any sounds they might make that Mokuba could hear.

It spurred Atem on and he fumbled with Kaiba's belt, trying to get it off and failing in his eagerness. Kaiba sat back up and removed it himself, tempted for a moment to use it to restrain Atem's hands from unwanted explorations. But then he remembered how good his simple touch had felt and the belt was cast aside in favor of feeling more. In an instant, Kaiba was back over Atem, licking along the length of his neck, loving the very taste of him as he tilted his head back to allow easier access. It led Kaiba to suckle on Atem's earlobe, tugging on it gently with his teeth when he felt the former pharaoh was getting a little too complacent. It caused Atem to cry out quietly, trying to be mindful of even tough the engines' roar covered most of their noises, it wouldn't cover all of them if they weren't careful.

The sound pleased Kaiba immensely and he growled approvingly as he went in for another kiss while his hand sought out the buttons of Atem's pants. All of his doubts were chased out of his mind when he started to kiss his way down Atem's chest, lavishing attention on his nipples that had hardened into tight peaks. He wanted more and he intended to get it. Tugging Atem's pants off and casting them aside along with his shoes and socks, Kaiba's mouth went dry when he saw the prominent arousal straining against black briefs. He reached out and stroked it with a teasing touch, earning him a whimper from Atem who also wanted more.

Very slowly, Kaiba began to remove Atem's underwear, and he felt his cock twitch with interest when the former pharaoh was completely naked beneath him. Atem's eyes were half-lidded with lust as he looked up at Kaiba, waiting for his next move. He didn't dare move for fear of scaring Kaiba off and he had a momentary moment of panic when he got off the bed. Fearing for the worst, Atem watched with bated breath as Kaiba took off his own shoes and socks, followed by his pants then briefs. He swallowed hard when he saw Kaiba's large cock jutting out and it made Atem that much harder when he thought about that rigid length being inside of him.

It felt like an eternity before Kaiba returned to the bed and pinned him down once more. They gasped as their skin came into contact for the first time in reality and Kaiba knew he could grow utterly addicted to the sensation of body moving against body in such a way. He didn't say anything when Atem reached up and held onto Kaiba's broad shoulders to ground himself against the want surging through his very veins. Instead Kaiba reached between them and wrapped his large hand around both of their members and stroked. It caused Atem's eyes to flutter shut at the sensation and Kaiba leaned down and nipped at his neck in reprimand. He continued a slow pace before abandoning it in favor of a more substantial feeling.

Letting his hand trail down to cradle Atem's heavy sac, Kaiba wasted no time in tracing along his perineum and running over his eager entrance. It once again made Atem whimper as his grip on Kaiba's shoulders tightened to a near painful point. The reaction amused Kaiba as he realized he had completely dominated Atem's desires and it made him feel incredibly powerful to have his rival so completely under his control. It was an even headier feeling than in the dream and Kaiba reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the lotion that he kept there for his more private moments.

Sitting back and dislodging Atem's grip on him, Kaiba dispensed some onto his fingers and inserting a slicked one into the former pharaoh. It was obscene watching any part of himself going in and out of Atem in such a way and Kaiba continued adding fingers until he felt that his rival was properly prepped to take the whole of his large cock.

Once he determined that Atem was ready, Kaiba withdrew his fingers and dispensed a little more lotion to rub onto himself before sitting up on his knees and positioning himself between Atem's spread legs and slowly entering him. He was unprepared for the reality of sensations he experienced and he inhaled sharply as he felt that tight warmth for the first time in waking hours. It was damn near divine and Kaiba pushed until he was seated to the hilt inside of Atem.

"So good," Atem gasped as Kaiba leaned forward and braced both of his hands on either side of the former pharaoh's head.

"We haven't done anything yet," Kaiba pointed out, still feeling the need to be contradictory.

Leaning up and kissing him into silence, Atem broke the kiss with a cry when he felt Kaiba tentatively thrust. Any thoughts of further conversation were chased out of Atem's mind as Kaiba began to move in earnest, building up to a steady rhythm that had him writhing on the bed in mind-blowing pleasure. His hands sought out Kaiba once more and wrapped around his neck, embedding his fingers in brunette hair as he held on tightly while the pace sped up slightly.

It was good, but it still wasn't enough. Atem pressed his body closer by arching his back when Kaiba ghosted over something inside of him that made him shudder, but he still wanted more. It led to him wrapping his legs around Kaiba's waist, which had the desired effect when it caused Kaiba to his that place inside of Atem that had him moaning loudly despite himself.

Being so completely embraced should have bothered Kaiba, but he didn't think anything of it because he was so completely engrossed in the moment of the act of being with Atem in such a way. It was an amazing feeling and Kaiba knew now that he had experienced it, he was always going to want more. Nothing else—not even dueling—had ever made him feel so alive and connected with another person. It felt a lot like becoming whole and it was an utterly seductive feeling. Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered the fact that he was supposed to have complaints and protests over what was happening, but the evidence of the perfection of the moment was outweighing all of his previous complaints. What was the point of fighting what he knew to be true? Whether it be as a rival or as something more, Kaiba needed Atem like he needed no one else. Only when he was around did Kaiba feel like the man he was supposed to be and he could chose to hate or resent Atem for it or he could accept it and move on with his life in a new direction. Atem was certainly making a persuasive argument with his body and Kaiba felt the need to shift positions. Pulling out as he sat back on his haunches, it caused Atem to protest at the sudden stop. Kaiba said nothing as he guided Atem's legs over his shoulders and then resumed his previous pace. He held onto Atem's thighs as he thrust deep, moaning in abandonment as he completely lost himself in his rival. His thoughts could wait for a time when he could think of something other than how utterly perfect it felt to be entwined with Atem in such an intimate way.

Atem wasn't ready for it to be over yet, but he knew that he was nearing his end and he wanted to warn Kaiba. However, his warning turned into a sigh of pleasure and his words melted into Kaiba's name. Kaiba had him nearly bent and half and was thrusting hard and fast; Atem could barely withstand the totality of feeling as he grasped at the sheets above his head.

When Kaiba reached between them and started to stroke Atem's member once more, he jerked in surprise and got an annoyed growl for throwing off their pace. Whispering a breathy apology, Atem's body was torn between thrusting into the feeling and pushing against the pleasure of Kaiba's cock inside of him. Finally the dual sensations overwhelmed him and his whole body arched off the bed as he came hard, calling out Kaiba's name as his stomach became splattered with cum.

"Oh, fuck yes," Kaiba growled at the sight and sensation, his pace once again thrown off by the feeling of Atem's muscles contracting around him. He felt his own end nearing and seeing Atem marked in such a way was more arousing than it should have been. It led him to hungrily kiss Atem as he chased the sensations to their conclusion. He came hard with a shudder and a low moan as he emptied himself completely into Atem. Only then did he cease moving, taking a moment to collect himself as best he could. The feeling of bliss was overwhelming and Kaiba could have easily lost himself to it if it weren't for his impeccable self-control.

Pulling out of Atem, Kaiba helped Atem lower his legs to the bed and was surprised when he was once again embraced and kissed passionately. When they parted, Kaiba caught sight of his seed escaping from Atem and he would have been hard all over again if it had been humanly possible. Seeing Atem marked in such a way, covered in his essence as proof that he was Kaiba's, it called strongly to the reincarnated priest.

Atem looked thoroughly debauched and it appealed to Kaiba, more than he could even understand. He had half expected all his objections to come flying back once they were done with the act, but his mind was still a muddled mess from the hormonal release. And yet at the same time there was a clarity to it all, a sudden understanding that everything was Atem and there was no escaping it, even if he wanted to—and Kaiba wasn't so sure anymore that he wanted to. Was he really willing to deny himself such an experience due to his sheer stubbornness?

Reaching out to Kaiba and drawing him closer, Atem stole another kiss, one that was slower but no less passionate as a result. His body still ached with a need to be close to Kaiba, despite having been thoroughly satiated by what they had just done. "Kaiba," Atem whispered, afraid of losing the beautiful moment the instant Kaiba's mind started to work again.

It felt like a dam had been opened inside of him and the only thing that could make it better was more of Atem. Kiss melted into kiss and Kaiba ran his hands along Atem's still sensitive skin, needing to feel more of him. A stray thought crossed his mind that he could have lost this if he hadn't overcome his stupidity and Kaiba was forced to realize that he wasn't willing to sacrifice Atem for the sake of his pride. It was a startling realization, one that would need more thought dedicated to it than he was capable of the moment. No, right now everything was about the taste, the feel, the experience of Atem beneath him and that was all that mattered.

Once again moving downward to taste Atem, Kaiba licked the sweat off of him, loving the taste of their exertion. He moaned when Atem drew marks of want down his back and it spurred him on, his arousal starting to stir once more. As he began to kiss lower down his rival's body, he was confronted with the former pharaoh's cum and without even thinking, Kaiba licked at that too, taking all of Atem into him. Everything of Atem's was his and he felt himself responding to the way his actions made the former pharaoh shiver with need. It caused Kaiba to growl Atem's name, an almost feral sound that made his rival shudder.

Atem was going out of his mind was lust, his body both aching for more and wondering if he could handle it. He was at his limits and still Kaiba pushed him forward, his every action causing him to feel jolts of arousal. He was startled from his thoughts when Kaiba ordered, "Turn over," and Atem was too far gone to resist the command even if he wanted to. He moaned as he felt Kaiba's larger body covering his, loving the sensation of so much skin to skin contact and he mourned the loss when Kaiba sat up and denied him the feeling.

Driven by need, Kaiba ran his hands along Atem's back and sides, letting his fingers slowly trail lines of lust along his skin. It caused Atem to thrust into the sheets to seek relief from the feelings that were starting to build up inside of him and Kaiba smirked at the reaction, feeling incredibly powerful and aroused at the same time. He could feel himself starting to harden again and he reached down and stroked himself to encourage it. Atem looked back over his shoulder and caught sight of it and he felt yet another moan get caught in his throat at the vision Kaiba was presenting to him. He wanted to be the one to touch Kaiba in such a way, but that was for another time, provided Kaiba didn't forsake them in favor of his smarting pride.

His pride was the farthest thing from Kaiba's mind as he reached down and caressed Atem's firm ass, spreading his cheeks and once again confronting the visual image of his seed covering Atem in such an intimate way. It caused him to shift positions as he helped raised Atem's hips and get his knees under him. Kaiba began teasing him by running his cock between Atem's cheeks, thrusting lightly as a reminder of what they had been doing, a promise of what was to come. Atem balanced himself on his forearms and tried to focus on breathing, because it was becoming harder and harder to do as Kaiba pushed his body to its limits.

Finally Kaiba had bored of the teasing and slid back into Atem with a sigh, loving the slick warmth that greeted him. It felt a lot like home and Kaiba knew that he was never going to be able to give up the feeling of being with Atem in such a way. He started off slow, pulling out until only the tip of himself was left and then pushing back in to the hilt. It was torturous and no matter what Atem did, he couldn't get Kaiba to speed up the pace. Atem's noises of discomfort amused Kaiba and he couldn't resist leaning forward and gruffly asking, "Do you want more?"

"_Yes!_" Atem hissed, thrusting back onto Kaiba hard in encouragement. "Fuck, I need all of you, Kaiba. All of—_ah_!"

Rewarding Atem's honesty, Kaiba started thrusting faster and deeper, angling Atem's hips in such a way that he could hit that space inside of his rival that had him almost screaming. It was almost too much feeling for Atem to handle and he forgot to be quiet as his body reacted to Kaiba's rhythm. Kaiba for his part didn't bother shushing Atem's reactions, largely because they were so gratifying to hear. He had successfully demolished Atem's obnoxious composure and he wouldn't stop until the only word Atem could remember was, "Kaiba."

When Kaiba reached around and started to stroke Atem's neglected member, it caused the former pharaoh to swat away the hand. It was too much on top of what Kaiba was already doing and besides, he wasn't ready for it to be over yet. Kaiba didn't take offense to it; instead he let his hand wander up Atem's torso and trace over a nipple lazily before tweaking it into a hardened peak. He then used his hand to guide Atem up into a sitting position as he continued thrusting. It caused Atem to reach back with one arm and hold onto Kaiba to try and steady himself as he ground against the feeling of Kaiba inside of him, his hips moving endlessly as he kept pace. A stray thought crossed Kaiba's mind that he wished he had a mirror to watch Atem's expressions in this position as his rival rocked against him so beautifully.

Driven by urges, Kaiba suckled on Atem's ear before nipping at it, then repeating the process to his neck, then his shoulder, as his lust became practically primal. He ran his hands along Atem's thighs and helped spread them farther apart, causing him to go even deeper with each thrust. Atem was crying out freely, his words become a cross between Kaiba's name and wordless sounds. It caused Kaiba to respond with Atem's name and swears, switching languages as he became completely caught up in the experience.

When Kaiba once again started trying to stroke Atem, it caused him to whimper, "I can't…It's too much!"

"You can and you will," Kaiba told him authoritatively, which only served to heighten Atem's already frenzied passions.

Atem did his best to hold out, not wanting it to be over and yet knowing that his body had already been pushed to its maximum. "Stop or I'm going to—" Atem tried to warn, even as his body continued its ceaseless bouncing with Kaiba's rhythm.

"Then cum for me," Kaiba commanded as he ran his thumb teasingly over Atem's slit.

It was more sexiness than Atem could handle and he came all over Kaiba's hand with a loud shout, his body losing all of its tension as he collapsed against the strong body that was supporting him.

Atem may have been done, but Kaiba was not. He continued guiding Atem's hips, thrusting as deep as the position would allow. It caused Atem to mindlessly moan, "Kaiba," over and over again and that was exactly what he wanted to hear. However, it finally became too much for Kaiba's body to deal with and he too came hard, calling out to Atem as he thrust until he could move no more.

Finally stilling, Kaiba embraced Atem and sighed softly as he rested his head against his rival's and closed his eyes for a moment to steady himself. Atem was completely boneless in the hug, melting into it with a contented sigh of his own as he waited for his heart to stop pounding so furiously in his chest. He whimpered when Kaiba pulled out of him, his body feeling hypersensitive to every movement and action, including the way that the reincarnated priest's fingers were faintly tracing over his skin.

Kaiba could feel the tremble in Atem's body and he finally took pity on him and helped lower him to the bed. The former pharaoh was quick to curl up on Kaiba once he lay down on his back on the bed, subtly wiping Atem's remnants off on the comforter.

Silence surrounded them, only broken up by the sound of the engines' dull roar that have covered their coupling and given them the safety of privacy. Kaiba's mind was blissfully blank and he wanted it to stay that way as long as it would last; it was less complicated that way. Atem also enjoyed a moment of peace, melting further into Kaiba when he wrapped an arm around him to hold him closer out of instinct. It would have been easy to drift to the sleep of the completely satiated, but Atem resisted the call, waiting to see what Kaiba would do next.

Kaiba closed his eyes to the world as he focused on the feeling of contentment that was burning inside of him so strongly for once. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so at ease, so at peace in a single moment. He was deeply satisfied and once again surprised that his previous feelings hadn't come rushing back to him the instant he was done and able to think clearly again. It just suddenly didn't seem as important in the aftermath as it did in the underground dueling arena. Atem was right, much as it galled Kaiba to admit, but he was the one that had technically left first. He had abandoned Atem when he shouldn't have, but Kaiba just hadn't known how to deal with the situation except to put some distance between himself and the problem. It didn't make it right, but it was what it was. The important thing was the now, rather than assessing the blame for something that no longer technically mattered. He had Atem at his side and that meant relief from that crushing pain that he had experienced in the underground dueling arena, even though it scared Kaiba to know that there was someone who could affect him so deeply to his very core. It felt dangerous and yet Kaiba's instinct to run away was strangely absent; no, all he did was hold Atem that much closer to him.

"What are you going to do now?" Kaiba finally asked as he opened his eyes and looked down at Atem.

His mind still muddled from the mind blowing sex, it took a moment for Atem to process the question. "In regards to…?" Atem questioned, not understanding the direction of Kaiba's question.

"When we get back. What are you going to do?" Kaiba clarified.

Taking a chance and hoping it didn't ruin the mood, Atem answered, "Stay by your side, if you'll let me."

"In what capacity?" Kaiba wanted to know, still unsure about what Atem's intentions were.

Even though his body protested the movement, Atem propped himself up to look down at Kaiba, as he replied, "Whatever capacity you're willing to let me."

It was a pleasing answer, but also a complicated one because it meant that Kaiba had to decide what capacity he was willing to accept Atem.

"I want to be more than just your rival," Atem hesitantly continued, hoping it didn't turn Kaiba's mood against him.

Unable to resist the temptation, Kaiba reached up and pulled Atem's head down to engage him in a slow kiss. "You don't get to leave me again," Kaiba finally said after he released Atem's lip from suckling on it lightly after the kiss.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Atem promised, knowing that leaving Kaiba after what they had just experienced together was going to be impossible.

"Good," Kaiba murmured as he pulled Atem on top of him and began kissing him senseless again. "Because there are no second chances after this."

Rather than saying anything, Atem continued indulging himself in Kaiba's sweet and possessive kisses as time passed them unnoticed while they flew over the ocean back home.

* * *

**A/N:** So I'm taking a little bit of liberty with teenage boys refractory periods, but I think the point still stands.

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"_Shut up," Kaiba growled, swallowing the sound of Atem's laughter with another passionate kiss. _

The next chapter will conclude this arc of Endless Loop and will be posted on **Sunday, June 1st**. Until then, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this story!


	4. Part IV: Moving Away

**A/N: **Please note that there is a **lengthy lemon** in this one, so please be aware.

* * *

**Part IV: Moving Away**

As the last of his life points dwindled down to zero, Kaiba had to resist the urge to swear. He was angry, but invigorated all at the same time by dueling and losing to Atem. Things had certainly been interesting since returning to Japan together. For starters, Atem had moved into the mansion with him and Mokuba since there hadn't been a spare room for him at the Game Shop and it was better than sharing a room with Yuugi. There had initially been much protesting from the Yuugi-tachi, but Atem had largely ignored it, much to Kaiba's pleasure. It made him feel good that Atem had been willing to choose him over them; it gave him more confidence in their relationship if nothing else.

Whatever label Atem wanted to put on them was fine with Kaiba, so long as he got to be with his rival in an intimate capacity. Even though Atem had his own room in the mansion, he spent every night in Kaiba's room, more often then not falling asleep only after a round or two of incredible sex. It made Kaiba feel so close to Atem, closer than he had ever felt to anyone previously in his life. At one time it might have scared him, but the thought of losing Atem scared him more. Sometimes he woke up at night from a nightmare that Atem had crossed over to be with the priest for all eternity and it was a comfort to realize that he was sleeping soundly next to him. Never again did Kaiba have to worry about that meddling priest taking what was rightfully his.

His thoughts were brought back to the present when Atem came over to him with a triumphant look in his crimson eyes that set Kaiba's very soul on fire with passion. "You've become a true duelist," Atem praised him, having enjoyed the fight far more than their last one.

Roughly pulling Atem to him, Kaiba dominated a kiss that left Atem breathless when they parted. It wasn't the response he had been expecting and he was pleasantly shocked. "You're not mad you lost?" Atem asked in surprise.

"Of course I am," Kaiba irritably said as he glared at Atem for good measure. But somehow that feeling waned when he was in Atem's presence. "I hate losing."

"You played really well, though," Atem told him, hoping that Kaiba could learn to focus on that aspect rather than the loss.

"You still won," Kaiba irritably said, even as he slipped his fingers under Atem's shirt to touch the skin hidden beneath it to calm himself.

"Barely," Atem stated, knowing it had been a tough victory to achieve. Only his aibou had ever been able to challenge him as much as Kaiba and he had no doubt that one day he would lose to his lover.

It was still somewhat surreal to Atem that he and Kaiba had moved on to that point; he had fully expected to never be forgiven for leaving after the way the reincarnated priest had acted upon his initial return. But it had merely been a case of too many mixed emotions colliding into a mess and time had tempered their reactions to the situation. They had both recognized their errors and moved beyond them to the point they were currently at, which was in a contended relationship. Kaiba was surprisingly affectionate toward him once Mokuba had given his approval. Some part of Kaiba was always needing to touch some part of Atem as if reassuring himself that he was still there and present. It pleased Atem more than he could put into words and he indulged in the simple touches as much as he could.

Atem had been surprised at how naturally they had fallen into a rhythm together; he had expected it to be harder to get along with a personality as forceful as Kaiba's, but that hadn't been the case. Atem quickly grew to realize that the Kaiba he saw at home was very different from the Kaiba that everyone else saw. That suited Atem just fine, too. He liked his private Kaiba that wasn't afraid to show the depths of his feelings behind closed doors. He never said anything about it, but his actions were more than enough for Atem. Atem felt cherished whenever Kaiba held him in their quieter moments and kissed him tenderly, felt important whenever he would arrange his work schedule so he could come home earlier to spend more time with him and Mokuba. The resistance he had expected to experience based off of Kaiba's initial reactions was mercifully absent and Atem was more than okay with that.

"Hn," was Kaiba's only reaction before he was trying to dominate another kiss, just so he could claim a victory in some kind of duel. Atem gave himself over to it entirely, although their Duel Disks were in the way. They quickly removed them and Kaiba started on Atem's shirt next, the adrenaline rush of the fight serving as fuel for his desires.

"We can't," Atem protested as he tried to stop Kaiba's hands from making any progress. "Mokuba will be home soon from school."

"Door's locked, don't care," Kaiba brusquely replied as he continued his quest of stripping Atem.

Once again stopping Kaiba, Atem continued trying to rationalize with Kaiba, "We don't have anything for—"

"Fine, upstairs then," Kaiba decided as he bent down and scooped Atem up and tossed him over his shoulder. It caused Atem to yelp in surprise as he continued protesting, but Kaiba ignored it as he exited the rec room they had been dueling in for the past few hours.

"Put me down!" Atem demanded as he struggled in Kaiba's grip.

"Keep it up and I'll drop you," Kaiba warned as he continued walking toward the stairs to head to their bedroom.

"Kaiba!" Atem called out, but his commanding tone was ruined by his laughter at the situation. It was truly absurd and yet Atem couldn't help but be turned on by the sheer strength that Kaiba possessed and how easily it could be used to pin him down on a bed.

Making a pleased sound at hearing his name said in such a way, Kaiba continued heading toward the stairs when he was stopped by hearing his brother calling out, "Nii-sama, Yami, are you home?"

Even though he loved his little brother dearly, Kaiba was not pleased by his sudden appearance and interruption. Kaiba was aching to be buried inside of Atem intimately and his brother's presence meant he was going to be delayed for hours until they went to bed. Unless he managed to find a way to silence Atem and they could continue…

"Yeah," Kaiba confirmed, trying to keep the disappointment out of his tone as he started to head toward his brother's voice.

"Told you," Atem muttered, earning him a slap on the ass that made him moan with want instead of the intended punishing effect Kaiba had been aiming for with his action.

"Stop that," Kaiba ordered, the sound having shot straight to his cock, which was already starting to stir to life. Forcing his body to calm down, Kaiba put Atem back down on the ground so he could walk on his own volition and not raise suspicions with Mokuba. Even though he had given his approval of their relationship, there was a limit to what Kaiba wanted him to understand about it. There were just some things that Mokuba didn't need to see and walking in on them in the middle of an intimate moment was one of those things.

Mokuba was waiting for them in the kitchen with a broad smile and it made some of Kaiba's irritation ease. "You look like you're in a good mood," Kaiba commented as they entered the room.

"I had a great day!" Mokuba cheerily exclaimed. "My friends and I nailed our presentation in history class."

"I'm glad to hear it," Kaiba praised his younger brother, feeling proud of him.

"How was your day?" Mokuba asked as he started to make himself an after school snack.

Having cut out of work early to duel Atem and lost said battle were all reasons why he should have said, "Bad," but Kaiba didn't have the heart to say that to his younger brother when he was in such a good mood. "Good," Kaiba answered with a small smile at the way his younger brother beamed at him.

"Yami?" Mokuba questioned, not finding it strange anymore to include him in on conversations that had once been private.

"Excellent," he replied with a smile of his own. He had always been fond of Mokuba and that feeling had continued to grow as they had lived together. He truly was a good kid and he reminded Atem a lot of Kaiba. "Congratulations on your presentation."

"Thanks," Mokuba said as he offered food to them both. Kaiba declined, but Atem took a little for himself as he took a seat at the counter along with Mokuba, having worked up quite an appetite while dueling.

"Thank you," Atem appreciatively said as he began to eat along with Mokuba.

It was the quieter moments when Kaiba saw how well Atem and Mokuba got along that made him happy. He could only imagine how much harder things would have been if Mokuba hadn't approved of him being together with Atem. Kaiba knew he wouldn't have been able to give up Atem even if his brother hadn't approved and he was grateful that ne never found himself in that position.

Mokuba continued chattering about how his day was and Atem did most of the replying as Kaiba merely observed. Part of him stubbornly still insisted on taking Atem upstairs and resuming from where they were interrupted, but he knew that having Mokuba in the house and awake was going to curb Atem's urges.

Kaiba was paying just enough attention to hear Mokuba say, "So I'm probably going to leave to hang out with Jounouchi and Honda in a few minutes. Do you guys want to come with me? We're probably going to an arcade."

"No, but thanks," Atem declined, his mind going the same place that Kaiba's was.

"Aww, really? It'll be fun," Mokuba continued, trying to change his mind.

"Maybe next time," Atem promised, knowing that he had to hang out with his friends some time. As tempting as it was to spend all his time with Kaiba, Atem knew that he still needed to get out sometimes. Things had initially been a little weird between him and the rest of the Yuugi-tachi after his return, but they had quickly forgiven and forgotten that he had ever left at all. More awkward was their reaction to the news that Atem was dating and moving in with Kaiba. Jounouchi had taken it the hardest, although Yuugi had been the most disappointed since Atem was living apart from him for the first time. It had been hard to be apart from his aibou, but being with Kaiba more than made up for it.

"Okay, but I'm holding you to that," Mokuba warned with another smile that softened his words. "It's been awhile since we've all hung out together."

"Yeah, we should do something," Atem agreed, wondering if he could coerce Kaiba into agreeing. He would certainly enjoy making a persuasive argument, if nothing else.

They continued making plans while Kaiba silently observed and soon Mokuba announced that he was ready to go. "Is it okay if I take Isono?" Mokuba asked his brother, more out of formality than anything else.

"Of course," Kaiba granted, knowing that he would have no need of his dedicated employee for the next few hours. Besides, he could drive himself wherever they needed to go afterward.

"I'll see you both later, then!" Mokuba happily exclaimed as he put away his dish and scurried off in search of Isono.

Atem looked at Kaiba with heated eyes that made the taller teen burn with need, a need that would soon be satiated. Kaiba didn't say anything, but Atem could see the smoldering want in Kaiba's expressive blue eyes that usually managed to tell him what words could not. Everyone else may have seen them as cold and calculating, but Atem knew better.

Neither of them moved until they heard Mokuba leave the house and then Kaiba was on Atem in an instant, the last of his restraint disappearing with the sound of the door closing. Atem wrapped his legs around Kaiba's waist and pulled their bodies closer together, gasping when he felt the hardness pressing against him. "That certainly didn't take long," Atem teased in between kisses.

"Shut up," Kaiba growled, swallowing the sound of Atem's laughter with another passionate kiss.

"Yes, sir," Atem replied in a sultry manner that made Kaiba bite back a groan at the sheer sexiness of it.

Once again picking Atem up and draping him over his shoulder, Kaiba started to make his way back to their bedroom. "Why do you keep carrying me?" Atem asked in exasperation.

"Are you complaining?" Kaiba asked in a tone of voice that cut straight through Atem and made him shiver with want.

"Never," Atem replied, the single word laced with his desire.

"Good," Kaiba said as he started up the long staircase. It felt like forever before they reached their bedroom and Kaiba shut and locked the door just to be on the side of precaution in case Mokuba came back before they had finished.

Putting Atem down, Kaiba chuckled when eager hands were quick to get rid of his shirt. He returned the favor with pleasure and together they made quick work of ridding each other of their clothes. "Atem," Kaiba said with need as he backed them up toward the bed. Atem reassured him with a kiss that was interrupted when they bumped into the bed. Taking control of the situation, Atem shoved Kaiba hard onto the bed, causing him to bounce onto it with surprise. Atem quickly clambered on top of Kaiba and began kissing him breathless. Kaiba multitasked by caressing Atem's body, sending shivers through the former pharaoh.

The teasing touch served to stoke Atem's need for Kaiba and his hips thrust against the answering hardness that had been so quick to make a reappearance. "Oh, Kaiba," Atem sighed, needing more.

Kaiba said nothing as Atem started peppering his beck and chest with kisses, slowly working his way down to the rigid member that was in front of him and demanding attention. Atem took it in hand and lightly teased it with his fingers, making Kaiba growl lowly in the back of his throat. The sound of it caused Atem to groan in response as he felt that hollow ache inside of him that only Kaiba could fill. But first he took Kaiba's member into his mouth and began to go down on him enthusiastically, using his lips and tongue to perfection in Kaiba's opinion. He never grew tired of the feeling of Atem's talented mouth on him and Kaiba did his best not to thrust into that welcoming warmth and gag him.

When Atem began to deep throat Kaiba, he couldn't hold back his protracted moan as he arched his back in pleasure. It felt amazing and for that reason Kaiba had to put a stop to it; he had even better things in mind for the moment. Reaching down and easing Atem off of him, Kaiba received a pout for his actions. At one point Kaiba would have hated himself for finding the reaction adorable, but he had already come to terms with the fact that Atem had bypassed his normal reactions.

Instead of explaining himself, Kaiba reversed their positions and reached for the lube that was never very far from hand with Atem around all the time. Unable to resist the temptation, Kaiba returned the favor as he began preparing Atem for penetration.

Atem embedded his fingers in Kaiba's soft brunette hair as he spread his legs further apart to accommodate him. It was rare for Kaiba to fellate him and Atem enjoyed every moment of it. He about came undone when Kaiba did that little trick with his tongue that drove Atem wild and he tried to tell him to stop, but the words wouldn't come out right. With the feeling of Kaiba's fingers toying with him at the same time as his mouth, it was almost more than Atem could take. When Kaiba ghosted over that spot inside of him that never failed to make him come undone, Atem tried to stop him from continuing, but it was useless. Kaiba wasn't going to stop until Atem had reached completion and when he applied the right amount of pressure to that place while sucking hard, he couldn't hold it in anymore and came hard with his lover's name on his lips.

"How is that fair?" Atem protested, even though he felt amazing. When Kaiba smirked down at him while wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, Atem took advantage of his unbalanced position and knocked him over onto his back. Once again returning to his place on top, Atem reached back and steadied Kaiba's cock so that he could ease himself onto it. He slid down with a sigh, stopping only once he was fully seated.

Even though his need to be filled had been met, Atem still ached for more. It drove him to start moving as he braced himself on Kaiba's firm stomach for balance. As he built up a rhythm, Atem tossed his head back with a loud moan of pleasure that made Kaiba thrust up hard in appreciation of the sight. Kaiba rested his hands on Atem's hips and helped guide them as they continued.

It was an amazing experience for Atem and he didn't hold back any of his reactions, becoming more vocal as they progressed. Even Kaiba failed to hold back his sounds of satisfaction as Atem rode him hard and fast. He couldn't get enough of his rival and Kaiba let his hands wander along heated skin to further heighten the sensations, although he avoided touching Atem's member for fear of it being over too soon. Kaiba wanted to overthrow Atem and continue on top, but he allowed his rival to have his moment. Besides, it all felt good and that was the only thing that mattered.

Atem called out to Kaiba repeatedly, which pleased the reincarnated priest greatly. He never got tired of hearing his name on Atem's lips; it brought great satisfaction to his male pride to reduce his rival to that single word.

The sight of Atem on top of him was a glorious one and Kaiba growled appreciative. He had been an idiot for ever thinking he could have given up on his rival; every day he fell deeper and deeper into Atem. There had been no turning back once he had decided to commit and Kaiba didn't regret it for a moment. No, the only thing he regretted was that he had almost condemned himself to a lonely life without his rival to brighten his days. The very thought of it made his chest tighten painfully and Kaiba did his best to put the thought of it his mind since it did him no good to think of such things now. The only thing that mattered was the beautiful creature above him that looked so divine in all his naked glory.

Their bodies ceaselessly moved in search of the ultimate pleasure and it was starting to become too much for Atem to handle as his pace started to falter. Kaiba took that as his cue to start stroking Atem's member and it made him shout as he bounced down hard in response. He tried knocking Kaiba's hand away, but ended up wrapping his own around it and moving in sync together. Atem didn't last long and came shortly thereafter. The tensing of his muscles encouraged Kaiba to do the same, but he held out as long as he could since he wasn't ready for it to be over yet. Atem valiantly tried to keep up even though his body was protesting the overload of sensations. Finally Kaiba gave in to the feelings and climaxed, moaning lowly as he did so. It made Atem learn forward and hungrily kiss Kaiba, deepening the kiss when he felt fingers pulling him closer by his tricolor hair. Somehow it felt like it would never be enough, no matter how many times he was satiated.

Atem groaned when he pulled off of Kaiba's spent member and lay down on top of him despite the mess between them. "So good," Atem sighed in contentment as he snuggled closer still when Kaiba wrapped his arms around him.

"Mm," Kaiba agreed, letting his fingers absentmindedly trail along Atem's skin and send shivers through his rival.

They lay in silence together, enjoying the peace of the moment. Eventually Kaiba's thoughts began to meander and drift back to what his life would have been like if Atem wasn't as stubborn as he was. The thought made him chuckle to himself and it prompted Atem to ask, "What's so funny?"

"You actually out stubborned me," Kaiba replied, still laughing. "I never thought I'd live to see the day when that happened."

Grinning at that, Atem kissed Kaiba's neck as he said, "I fight for what I believe in and I believe is us."

"How can you say that with a straight face?" Kaiba wanted to know.

"Easily, because it's the truth,' Atem replied. "I just wish we both had realized it earlier."

"There's no point in wishing for such things," Kaiba told him, his tone softer than his words.

"No, not when we got what we wanted," Atem agreed. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you gave in when you did. I expected to have to wait a lot longer for you to change your mind."

Even Kaiba was surprised by how quickly he had come around, but it had just been too hard to fight against his instincts and desires. He had wanted Atem and it was painfully obvious; resisting further would have made him look foolish and he hated to look stupid. "So did I," Kaiba responded with a laugh before indulging in a sweet, unhurried kiss that made Atem melt.

"I'm glad you changed your mind," Atem murmured when they parted for breath. "I couldn't bear the thought of being apart from you."

"You have me now, that's all that matters," Kaiba reassured him in a rare moment of comforting. "Now let's go take a shower."

Nodding in agreement, Atem forced his tired body to move off of his comfortable position on top of Kaiba.

Atem led the way to the bathroom and Kaiba took advantage of the view to appreciative the sight of his cum marking his rival. It made him wonder if Atem felt the same way and he looked down at his stomach with a scowl at the mess. It wasn't a question Kaiba felt he could ask, so he kept it to himself.

Getting into the shower once the water was hot enough, Kaiba was on Atem in an instant, embracing him and groping his ass hard. It made Atem release a moaning laugh that amused Kaiba as he started kissing his rival's neck. "Just can't help yourself, can you?" Atem asked with another laugh.

No, not when Atem looked too irresistible when wet. Instead of saying anything, Kaiba merely ran his hands along Atem's nubile body, enjoying the wet warmth of his skin. "Not that I mind," Atem continued as he returned the favor.

Any further words were stopped by Kaiba kiss Atem to the point where all other thoughts ceased to matter. No, all that mattered in the moment was that they were together.

* * *

**A/N:** I can't believe I've just concluded my thirtieth story on this site! Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me along the way, it means the world to me.

My next story will be the much mentioned Prideshipping **Kitten fic**, although I still don't have an official title for it yet. I will be posting it on **Sunday, June 15th** and I can promise that it's a fun one.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this conclusion and I hope we all meet again in the next story!


End file.

Yu-Gi-Oh, Drama, Romance