Thank you so much for everyone who read the last chapter, the comments really helped motivate me! As always feedback is encouraged and story suggestions are welcome. I don't own Yu Gi Oh! or any of its characters. Sorry for any grammatical errors.

Some important information for this chapter though, I am aware that there are different names for lunch breaks around the world. In this I refer to the first lunch as 'Recess' and the second lunch is just called 'lunch'.

Hope you enjoy! :)

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When Yugi finally remembered that he had to get home he said goodbye to Anzu and entered his grandpa's shop, "Hi Grandpa, I'm home!" His voice resonated off the welcoming walls and he heard his grandpa give a short, "Ho ho," from the kitchen. Yugi followed the voice, but was tackled and forced into a hug by his surprisingly energetic grandpa. "G-grandpa, breathing!" he gasped as Sugoroku continued to hug the breath out of him. Smiling, he decided to let go, leaving a thoroughly confused Yugi gasping for air. When he finally regained his composure he looked quizzically at his grandpa, "What was that for?"

Sugoroku looked back innocently, eyes shining cheekily, "What was what for?" Yugi sighed impatiently and crossed his arms, "That massive tackle of a hug," Yugi watched cautiously as his grandpa's smile widened, almost splitting his face in half, he was worried now, "Granndddppaaaa?" He asked again, "what did you do?" Yugi watched carefully as his grandpa's eyes quickly flicked to look in the direction of Yugi's room. Yugi's eyes widened when he realised what his grandpa had done. Oh no! He couldn't have! He wouldn't dare! Yugi bounded up the stairs, skipping every second step, despite his short legs. He threw open the door to his room and groaned.

His once messy room was now spotless. His clothes folded neatly, his books actually on the shelves and worse of all, his bed was made. Yugi sighed, he liked having a messy room. The little dance he'd have to do to get where he wanted, careful to not step on his precious belongings. He being the only one to know where particular objects were placed (or thrown). Even though it may not have looked like it to others, everything had a place, an intricate pattern of possessions. All coming together like the pieces of a puzzle. His Grandpa knew this, that's why he enjoyed tidying it, just to mess with Yugi's 'system'. He smiled softly. As cheeky as his grandpas was, Yugi loved him. And he had to admit, it was kind of nice to be able to walk to his bed without tripping over something, but that was beside the point.

Yugi let his school bag slide off his shoulders, his back revelling at the absence of the weight of many books. Belly flopping onto his bed Yugi sighed, again. He felt the softness of the mattress and the blankets welcome him, surrounding him in cocoon of safety. As he allowed his body to rest, his mind was busy; whirring with thoughts about the play, and with thoughts about Yami. Yugi honestly had no idea what to think about Yami. There was something about him that nagged at the back of Yugi's mind. Something warm, something trusting, but there was also something dark. Before he could put too much thought into it, his eyelids fell like a sheet over his amethyst orbs, smothering his thoughts with a black veil.

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Yugi sat in his class, staring out the window. He knew that he should probably be paying attention, but watching the grass grow was far more interesting. As the teacher droned on and on, and the class slept or texted about nothing in particular, Yugi twirled a pen in his fingers and allowed his thoughts to wander. They wandered towards the conversation he had yesterday with Yami, they wandered towards the slight nervousness he felt as he was walking to school this morning, and they wandered towards the disappointment he felt when Yami didn't show up at Recess. Honestly! I said he could hang out with me because he said that his other 'friends' would beat him up otherwise. But he doesn't even show up!? Yugi huffed in annoyance, his fingers twirling the pen even faster. Is the idea of hanging out with me really that repulsive? Suddenly his pen decide to leap from his grip and fly half way across the room. It dropped to the ground with a surprisingly loud clatter. Great. The whole room fell silent as everyone turned to look at Yugi. He felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment and looked down towards his desk. Lunch can't come any faster can it?!

When the bell finally decided to put Yugi out of his misery, he jumped up and exited the classroom as fast as he could, leaving his traitress pen on the ground. He got his food from his locker and ran up to his spot on the roof. He sat down and waited for Ryou, who was going to bring his chess set. Yugi was glad that Ryou was as into games as he was, and was nearly as good at them too. He was about go into another deep thought about Yami's loyalty when he saw a figure approaching. He smiled as his flustered albino friend came into view, carrying his lunch and the chess set close to his chest.

"Hey Yugi! Sorry I took so long. I kind of got stuck in the crowd..."

Yugi's smile broadened at the way his friend's accent twisted the words. "Don't worry Ryou, I wasn't waiting that long."

Ryou smiled one of his small, innocent smiles and sat down next to Yugi. The two ate their lunch in comfortable silence before they opened up the chess set. It was a beautiful wooden set, hand-carved by Ryou's grandfather. Yugi picked up the knight and ran his fingers over the small, smooth piece, smiling at the slight warmth of the wood. The two quickly set up the board; Yugi black and Ryou white. Ryou moved his first piece and the battle began.

Quickly Yugi's knight took out two of Ryou's pawns, but he retaliated, using his bishop to slay the knight. The game was intense, pieces had been captured by both sides, all but a few were still standing on the worn battlefield. The queens had been unleashed, and were raining fury down on the other pieces, showing no mercy. The attacks were ruthless and relentless, the outcome was anything but clear. The strategies were well known to both sides, it was proving difficult to get the upper hand. Suddenly the field was enveloped in shadow. Yugi tore his gaze away from the board to look at the source of the disturbance.

"Hi. Yugi? Wasn't it?" Came the baritone voice.

Yugi couldn't believe it. Before him stood Yami, a look of slight discomfort on his face. His fingers running nervously through his hair. Crimson eyes glinting expectedly.

"Y-yeah, hi Yami," he stuttered, "I didn't think that you were going to show up."

"Yeah, sorry. I... had some...stuff..to take care of..." Suddenly he let out a small chuckle,"and then I didn't know where you where..."

Yugi's eyes widened and he slapped himself mentally. I, am sooooo smart. I didn't even tell him where to find me. But, then how...

"Wait. If you didn't know where I was, how did you end up here?"

"Well..." Yami scratched the back of his head, "I went outside to look for you right, and I couldn't see you. I looked back up at the building and...well...there was your hair."

Yugi couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. Yami looked at him in confusion but that was even funnier to Yugi. Yami chuckled nervously, he probably thought that he had a problem, but Yugi didn't care. Finally Yugi settled down when he heard a dry cough from next to him.

"Right," he breathed deeply, trying to calm down,"Yami, this is Ryou. Ryou, This is Yami."

Ryou smiled and waved at Yami,"Hi, nice to meet you."

Yami looked slightly taken aback at Ryou's politeness, well, it was that or his accent.

"Hi Ryou, it's nice to meet you too," Yami returned with the same polite tone.

Yugi gestured for Yami to sit down, and he did. Yugi was slightly surprised when his crimson eyes surveyed the chess board and his lips twisted into a smirk. Yugi quickly looked down, he and Ryou were pretty much at a stale mate, neither of them where willing to give in.

"Good job Yugi, your about to win," Yami stated nonchalantly.

Both Yugi and Ryou looked at the board and looked back at Yami, "What!?" They both questioned. Yugi looked back at the board once again and slowed his thinking. It was his turn and apparently, he was about to win. He let out a small gasp, everything clicked. Slowly he moved one piece, he could feel Ryou's gaze following his hand, his face falling as he too realised what was happening. Yugi put the piece down with a small clack, "Checkmate!" He squeaked in triumph.

Ryou groaned and Yami chuckled. When Ryou recovered from his devastating loss he looked to Yami, "Do you play chess?"

Yami's eyes seemed unfocused, like he was looking at something that only he could see, "I used to," he replied softly.

Yugi, sensing that there was some kind of sad story was slightly grateful that the bell went to signal the end of lunch.

"So, I have maths, what do you guys have?" Yugi asked as they navigated their way back to their lockers. Both the others looked at him with a shocked and slightly hurt expression, "I'm in your class!" They exclaimed at the same time. Yugi face-palmed, I'm on a roll today. How had he not remembered that Ryou was in his class, and how had he not noticed that Yami was too? His hair was kind of hard to miss. His two friends smiled at his exasperated expression and walked off to get their stuff.

Yugi sat at the back of the class room, Ryou to his left and Yami on his right. As the teacher explained how to solve a particular equation, Yugi doodled around the edge of his notes. He could hear Ryou scribbling down the formulas frantically, but on his right, Yami was slouched in his chair, lazily writing down some notes when it suited him. Before he knew it the bell was ringing and and the teacher was shouting the homework as the students grabbed their belongings and rushed out the room. Yugi scribbled down the equation for homework, but when he paused to properly look at the question he panicked. He didn't know how to solve it, maybe his notes had something that would help. He looked and let out a strangled scream. Where his notes should have been was a Dark Magician battling a sketchy Blue-eyes White Dragon. He let his head drop to bang against the desk. I am so smart. He heard a scrape of a chair against the floor and some footsteps. "Yugi, are you okay?" The baritone voice was enough to get Yugi to lift his head.

"No. I don't understand this!" He gestured towards the equation, "and I was smart enough to cover all my notes with a drawing!"

Yami looked over his shoulder, "Well, if it's any consolation, it's a pretty good sketch."

Yugi let out a frustrated laugh, "Thanks, but I don't think it can help with my problem,"

"I could."

Yugi looked up at Yami. Taking in the seriousness in his face. "What?"

"I could help you with the problem," he repeated, "This afternoon I could go over to your place to teach you how to do it. If you wanted, that is."

Yugi tossed the question around in his head. Should he really get Yami to come over to teach him maths? They had only really just met, would it be weird if he said yes? Before he could come up with an answer, Ryou's voice piped up from behind them, "If you guys are going to do that, can I come too? I don't really understand it either."

There was no way Yugi could say no now, "Sure you guys can come over. But Yami and I have play reversals after school, so you're going to have to wait around Ryou."

The three boys where walking home, joking and talking as if they had been friends all their life. Yugi was really happy that Yami was into games too. Otherwise, conversation might have bee a bit more difficult. The play rehearsals had been really boring to say the least. Mr Kumo had tried to get everyone to go over the script, but the students had taken for ever to quieten down, leaving only a few minutes left for reading, hence they hadn't even finished scene one. Yugi and Yami had sat patiently, musing on how so much noise could come from so few people. When Yami found out that it was Yugi who was to play his servant he looked slightly surprised. Yugi, once again, could do nothing but laugh, all the while Yami's crimson gaze never strayed from Yugi's joyous face. Yugi felt kind of bad for leaving Ryou alone for so long. When Yugi finally found him, he was snoozing on one of the desks in the library, his long white hair falling over his neck. His face looked soft and calm, his lips in a small smile. He looked so angelic, apart from the drool leaking from the side of his mouth, pooling on the desk. Yugi quickly took a picture with his phone, trying to stifle his laughs, before waking him up gently. He was a great friend like that.

Yugi giggled slightly at the memory before realising that they were standing outside the game shop. Yugi lead the other two inside, he was nervous to see their reaction, neither of them had ever been here before.

"Blimey Yugi, this place is amazing," Ryou exclaimed in awe, his chocolate brown orbs sparkling.

Looking around the shop with new eyes, Yugi could see where Ryou was coming from. The many shelves were laden with games of every kind. From old to new, from unique to popular, from hand held to electronic. The layout made it seem professional but homey at the same time. The afternoon sun was shining in through the windows, bathing the store in orange light, causing a particular item to glitter and glow, and this is where Yami was, standing in front of the case with the millennium puzzle. Yugi approached him carefully, "Um...It's called the millennium puzzle. It hasn't been solved for 3,000 years though, so...."

"It's beautiful."

Yugi looked at Yami in surprise, he didn't expect that from him. His eyes were reflecting the puzzle, gold mixed with red, making them even more striking. His mouth slightly agape as he stared at the box containing the puzzle. His eyes carefully looking over the hieroglyphs. Yugi smiled at Yami's expression, slowly he unlocked the case and brought the box to the top of the counter, conscious of Yami's gaze trained on his movements. "You can have a closer look if you want. My Grandpa brought it back from Egypt, so... It's not for sale,"

Yami shook his head slightly, not really wanting to form words. Yugi watched as Yami carefully opened the lid, putting it down softly. He then reached inside and brought out a piece with such delicacy it made Yugi feel as if he was prying on a personal matter. Yami's lips formed a small smile as he surveyed the piece. His smile was so genuine, his eyes filled with so much wonder, that at that moment he was even more beautiful than the puzzle, he was more beautiful than anything Yugi had ever seen. Yugi's eyes widened, he felt his face get warmer and knew that pink could probably be seen. What the hell! What the hell! What... Why?! Why did I think that!? What! Luckily at that moment a massive crash could be heard, both he and Yami turned to see Ryou standing awkwardly in the middle of the shop, a broken vase at his feet. His pale face flushed red and he let out a nervous laugh, "Oops. I'm really sorry Yugi!" His accent made the words seem so much more heartfelt, his brown, Bambi-like eyes, huge and filled with guilt. He was too adorable to stay angry at.

Yugi smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry Ryou, it happens to everyone," he tried cheerily, "You and Yami start clearing that up, I just need to put the puzzle away."

The mess was cleared up and the evidence removed just in time. Yugi had just put the last trash bag in the bin when Sugoroku came into the shop. "Oh ho! You have company Yugi my boy!" Yugi smiled and introduced his friends to his grandpa and vice verser. Both Yami and Ryou bowed respectfully, earning a light chuckle from Sugoroku. Yugi quickly explained the situation and lead his friends upstairs so that they could get started on the maths problem. It was upon entering his room that Yugi was grateful that his grandpa had cleaned it, despite his earlier annoyance. Yugi and the others sat on the floor and spread their books all around them, creating a little nest of equations and formulas.

"To business then, I suppose," Yami exclaimed while flicking through his notebook, eyes darting to and fro. Ryou and Yugi mirrored him, opening to the page they needed. Yami placed his notebook on the floor so that the others could see. Yugi watched as he scribbled down the equation with a subtle elegance and started to explain how to solve it. Yugi understood the first step, he understood the second step, but by the third his brain decided to give up. Yami continued explaining calmly, he even made up some examples for the two to work on. Ryou was nodding in understanding, while Yugi desperately tried to follow what was happening. Why can't I understand!? How does Yami make it look so simple? Yugi grew more and more frustrated with himself. He was about to yell out in desperation when there was a knock on his door.

"Ho ho! It's 7 o'clock, I thought you boys might like something to eat," Sugoroku said while bringing in a tray with many different assortments of snacks and drinks.

"7 o'clock!!! Sorry Yugi, I have to go!!!" Ryou leaped up from the floor, his eyes wide as he flailed around grabbing books and notes at random. He quickly nodded to Sugoroku and was gone before you could say 'crazy albino child'. Sugoroku chuckled, placing the tray down on the desk, before leaving the room. Yugi smiled, forgetting about his earlier frustration as he got up to find something to eat. He was partially aware of Yami waiting patiently, crimson gaze trained on the food. Yugi suddenly heard the sound of a dying whale from behind him, he turned to see an embarrassed Yami clutching his stomach.

"I'm so sorry Yami, I didn't know you were hungry!" Yugi exclaimed. I'm such a terrible person!

"Don't worry about it," Yami sighed, trying to regain his composure and reaching for the tray of food, "but if you don't mind, I'll take some of that."

Three apples, two sandwiches and an orange juice later, Yami finally stifled a belch and sighed in content. Yugi couldn't believe what he had just witnessed, his eyes where wide and had never left Yami's figure as he wolfed down the food. Yugi shook his head, probably better if I don't ask. He himself had only managed a sandwich and a juice. Yami cleared up his mess and turned to Yugi, "So, are you ready to retry the question?"

Yugi felt his frustration at himself bubbling up again, how can Yami's voice make such an evil thing sound nice? He nodded and went to sit next Yami, who was reopening the notebook.

For another hour Yami tried explaining to Yugi how to solve the problem. Yugi tried, he really did, but the information wouldn't settle in his head. He was growing more and more defeated, he could tell that Yami was getting impatient. Yugi couldn't look him in the eye. He could feel tears starting to form and looked down further. Why!? Why don't I understand!? He heard shuffling from beside him and felt the warmth of Yami leave his side. Great. Now he thinks that I'm stupid and he's leaving. Just great. He heard more shuffling from behind him but didn't look up, he couldn't face it. "Yugi," came the soft voice, "please turn around." Yugi snuffled and did as the voice said, turning to come face to face with Yami, the floor set up for a game of Duel Monsters. Yugi was confused now, "Yami...what?"

"Let's duel," came the simple response. Yugi, still confused, shuffled his deck and drew five cards. Yami did the same, "Okay Yugi. Solving the equation is just like a game of Duel Monsters. Right now, the equation is set up, the tools you have to solve it are in your hand." Yugi nodded, determined now to understand, and to win. He looked at his cards, alright, I can do this. Before he could draw, Yami had placed two cards on the field, a monster and what looked like a trap card. "When dealing with this kind of equation your have to simplify it before you can solve it."

Yugi nodded, he drew and placed a monster on the board in defence and then placed a trap card face down. Yami smirked, "A trap card I presume, activated when I attack? Well that's much the same with the equation. You have to get the right conditions so that you can act." He then attacked Yugi's monster, activating the trap card that he had set. Yugi smiled gleefully, eyes shining. Not only had Yami played right into his hands, but it finally clicked. Everything came into place, he understood. He just had to think of the equation as a puzzle, he couldn't solve it till all the pieces were in place.

The duel didn't go quite as Yugi had first anticipated. Yami was actually pretty good, every time either of them attacked some sort of spell was used, turning the tables in mere seconds. No one won, they both ran out of cards at the same time, due to 'Hand Destruction', played by a smirking Yami. Yugi could do nothing but smile, "I didn't know you played Duel Monsters Yami."

"Yeah, well...," he looked slightly embarrassed, turning away from Yugi to pack up his stuff, "it's actually my favourite game."

Yugi brightened even further, "It's mine too!"

Yami just chuckled lightly, earning a small pout from Yugi. The moment didn't last long though, as Sugoroku slowly opened the door and poked his head in, "Ah, I see you're all packed up, Yami my boy. But I'm afraid I'll be forcing you to stay here tonight, it's already 9 o'clock and I won't have you wandering the streets at night."

Worry flashed across Yami's face but he quickly changed his expression before Yugi could be sure. "Thank you very much for letting me stay here." He said lowly and bowed. Sugoroku chuckled and threw him some pants, "You'll have to borrow a shirt from Yugi though, mine are probably a tad too wide."

Yugi felt both excited and nervous at the prospect of Yami sleeping in his room. He was once again eternally grateful that his grandpa had cleaned it.

By 10, Yugi had gotten the trundle bed set up with some blankets and a pillow for Yami. He had also found the largest shirt he had and gave it to him. Yugi was now sitting on his bed reading; he was in his pyjamas and had already brushed his teeth. Surprisingly though, Yami was still in his uniform and was working on his laptop. The two hadn't talked properly except for the occasional question. Yugi yawned and looked over towards Yami, only to find him already looking at him.

"You can turn off the light and go to bed if you want, Yugi. I'll be done in a second," Yami assured. Yugi was too tired to argue, stifling another yawn he turned off the light and rolled onto his side so that he could see the glow from Yami's computer. He didn't know how long he watched Yami for, as he was entranced by the ghost like movements of Yami's fingers over the keyboard. Yugi jumped slightly when Yami shut the laptop and leaped up, heading towards the bathroom that Yugi pointed out earlier. He heard the flick of the light switch and the running of water.

It wasn't too long before he saw Yami silently enter the room, wearing the pants that Sugoroku had given him and the very close fitting top that he got from Yugi. It was a singlet top, allowing Yami's well defined arms to be seen. Yugi could see the shape of a chiseled chest and abs through the shirt, causing him to blush. When he saw Yami's eyes dart towards him he quickly shut his tight and breathed more heavily, hoping that Yami thought he was asleep. Yugi heard the movement of the blankets and a slight squeak of weight being applied to the trundle bed, announcing the arrival of a body. Slowly Yugi opened his eyes and looked across the room to find Yami laying on his side, facing Yugi. He allowed his amethyst eyes to look over Yami's face. It held no expression but it looked calm and handsome all the same. Yugi's heart started when Yami's eyes flicked open, the crimson illuminated by the faint moon light. They stared at each other for what could have been minutes, Yugi's heart beating nervously all the while. Yami suddenly smirked, a glint in his eyes, causing Yugi to blush again. What the hell?!