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For Atem Fouad, being brought back to the living world against his own will had its ups and downs.
He didn’t expect to return to life following Yuya’s Duel with Declan, but Ray Akaba heard his wish and pulled him out of the ARC-V Reactor before passing on to the afterlife along with Z-ARC. Now, here he was in the rebuilding Xyz Dimension with tea and snacks given to him by Yusho and Yoko. After seeing the married couple off, Atem approached a set of tables and got the tea set ready.
With the tea set assembled and sweet foods laid out for them, Atem took a seat on one of the chairs before straightening out his shendyt. He looked to his right while waiting for Yugi to arrive. Crimson eyes got a look at the restoring Heartland Tower. Yuma and Astral would no doubt be happy to see their home city returning to life. His silver cartouche bearing his name in hieroglyphics shined in the sunlight.
He never parted with it since he came back to this world.
Footsteps soon came into his hearing range, and his attention turned to who was coming up the steps. There was Yugi in his lavender button shirt and purple vest with the collar fastened to his neck. He now wore blue pants and nice black shoes over his white socks. Atem stood up and smiled at him once he saw him.
“Partner,” Atem greeted with a smile.
Yugi smiled back at him.
“I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” Yugi said politely.
“Not at all,” the older man countered in kind.
Kuriboh and Marshmallon soon emerged from their Decks as Duel Monster spirits only seen by them. Kuriboh gave off a joyful expression to the pink spirit, who grinned in response, revealing his sharp teeth.
“I’ll make some tea,” Atem proposed.
While the two Duel Monster spirits took the time to play, Atem was preparing some sweet chamomile tea for a seated Yugi. Before Yugi could accept the cup, however…
“Hand…” Atem said with concern.
Yugi was a little surprised to hear that.
“Has your hand healed?” he elaborated.
Yugi revealed his right hand, which has indeed healed, although there was a scar on it from his duel with Z-ARC. The younger man flexed his hand briefly.
“I’m fine,” he assured him. “Though the doctor said to call him if something happened.”
The tan-skinned young man gave him a warm smile in response.
Tea time soon began and the two of them were pleasantly enjoying each other’s company. It felt as though not too much had changed between them since they last parted.
“It’s nice to finally talk like this,” Yugi began.
“Yes,” Atem confirmed. “I know you vowed to return me to Aaru, but this is more rewarding than any gift given to me.”
Yugi put down the tea cup.
“We have a lot to do to get you accustomed to the modern era,” Yugi noted. “But there’s something on my mind.”
“Go on,” Atem urged gently.
“How did you come back?” he questioned. “I thought the sacrifice you made was permanent.”
“Having found reasons to live again, Ray heard my wish to be with you once more,” the other man recalled. “In exchange, I made sure that Z-ARC and Ray’s counterparts returned without Z-ARC’s influence tainting them.”
“So that’s how Yuto and the others came back!” Yugi realized.
“That’s right.”
Atem and Yugi looked up to find birds flying over a clearing blue sky. A gentle breeze blew by a moment afterward.
“Now they’re finally free,” Atem said with a smile.
“I’m happy for them, too,” Yugi agreed.
They looked back at each other.
“But…what about you?” he questioned. “What will you do now?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Sakaki offered me a place to stay,” Atem began.
He looked down with some dismay.
“It’s very generous of them to do this, but I feel I shouldn’t-!” he tried to explain.
“You can stay with me in the Prime Dimension!” Yugi proposed. “There's been a spare room since Mom moved out after I graduated high school. We can even work together in the Game Shop since I’m taking a gap year.”
Atem was surprised at this offer, but smiled shortly afterward.
“I would like that very much,” he accepted. “Thank you.”
As the conversation went on, Kuriboh and Marshmallon stopped playing with each other to see them happy around each other's company. They couldn’t help but feel the same way.
Once tea time was over, Yugi was pleased when he saw something colorful ahead of them.
“Atem!” he called out. “Over here!”
Atem made his way over to where Yugi was…and saw flowers starting to bloom once again in the Xyz Dimension. They were beautiful Lily of the Valley flowers, and they both took this as a good sign for this dimension and the world in general.
When they returned home late that night, the moonlight shone down comfortably on their sleeping forms in Yugi’s room, almost as though guarding them from anything that would harm them. It was a wild ride, but they made it to the end.
And something told them that everything would be fine from here on out.