Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Yu-Gi-Oh

Update Schedule: I'm going to try for every Wednesday (wish me luck)

Story Warning: Cursing will go from mild to excessive at times, depending on the character speaking and the situation they're in (I don't think they'll curse nearly as much as they did in Simple though)

Okay, so this is pretty premature. But after two (or three) years? I think it's kind of overdue actually. *eye roll* I don't know if my original readers will be here to read this considering the time that has passed since I finished the prequel, but here it is, the sequel to Simple.

But, before anyone starts reading, let's get something straight really quickly. I would really rather NOT have a repeat of what happened last time with a certain guest reader. If you really want to verbally attack me, then that's fine, go ahead. But over a story? Where the characters are fictional? And none of my actual VIEWS are being represented in it? That's pretty pathetic. Let's just put it that way. I actually don't have narrow views on sexuality or anything like that. Do what you want, do it with who you want with their consent. If I'm not part of it, it's ALL judgment free as far as I'm concerned. I could NOT care less, promise you. As for "slut shaming", I really don't have an opinion on that either. Do what you what, however you want. You could have threesomes and eight-somes for all I care and I still won't judge. I'm not involved in it, I have no part to play in it. I still could NOT CARE LESS.

The point is, though. NONE of my values are actually REFLECTED in these stories. I don't slut shame, I don't have narrow minded views on sexuality. Also, the only reason half of the characters in the story reacted as they did, was because in my high school, that's how things always happened. So relax, I don't care and I have no actual opinion on any of it. I didn't even know half of the girls who got called sluts or the guys who were being praised for hooking up with them. I just heard the gossip and the name-calling. Considering I was going for (somewhat) realistic in their reactions, it seemed okay to use those kinds of things. And if anyone actually wants to argue this out, then take it somewhere else. I don't have time for it, even if you do. My life becomes stressful enough without someone trying to shame me for how a couple of borrowed characters react to certain situations. (And, really? Am I the WORST you can find? I feel extremely sorry for you if that's the case.) Feel free to ignore this if you weren't involved. I really won't mind if you do, promise. (In fact, it'd make me extremely happy if you did ignore this lol I'm kind of ashamed that I even have to justify it as it is.)

Now, that said, as mentioned above! My update schedule will be Wednesdays as Simple's was. I'm not done with the story like I was with Simple or Behind You when I began posting, so if I miss a day or a week, that might be why. But I'm trying to motivate myself to keep up with this story again through posting on schedule. I have the basic outline but the story just refuses to come out. That aside, it also helps to keep me motivated for the werewolf multi-chapter story and Shadow Me as well. So, go ahead and tell me what you think, if I should keep going with it or scrap it altogether.

Fun fact: I'm actually stuck on the chapter where Yugi is going to tie Yami up LOL It's seriously kicking my ass~ Good luck to me to get it finished anytime soon haha (I've still got quite a bit of research to do for it and I'm less than motivated to do more research after doing so much for the werewolf multi-chapter story; fuck me, if you only knew HOW MANY BOOKMARKS I HAVE FOR THAT ONE STORY!)

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of death, mentions of social abuse, mentions of child abuse, mentions of abusive parents

Note: Yugi is in California, Yami is still in Domino. The time difference is pretty big. I had to struggle with it several times to keep it from getting out of hand for me. If I'm inconsistent at some point, that's why. I have never been all that great with time zones so, yeah, I'm just going to throw that out there.

Story Note: I'm going to probably have some inconsistencies between this and Simple as far as flashbacks go and some of the character histories. If I do, it shouldn't really be too terribly noticeable, actually. And it might be very intentional (because some of the characters aren't always who they pretend to be and no one knows each other as well as they think they do). So keep it in mind. You can point it out if you go back and reread Simple and notice it, and I'll explain it to you, but I don't think it'll be so significant that someone will jump on it like that. ALSO, in case you were wondering, there are going to be a LOT of additional pairings in this story. If you want to know more about that, go ahead and PM me and I'll give you a list of them that may be subject to change as the story goes along (since, you know…I haven't finished it *coughs*). That aside, this story WILL BE DARKER than Simple. That won't pertain entirely to just Yami and Yugi's relationship but the situation at hand as the story develops. The Millennium Items play a much larger role so it makes it a lot harder for things to be straight and neatly cut with everything that happens.

Chapter I: The Cards

Yami flipped the card over and stared blankly, chewing his cheek as the Puzzle gleamed with a spare ray of sunlight from the window. He tapped his finger lightly against the small piece of layered pasteboard, narrowing his eyes in apprehension. He was still getting the same outcome and he'd done this over twenty times. The Puzzle was burning from where it rested against his crossed legs, the silver chain feeling suddenly heavy and weighted. His skin crawled, feverish and cold all at once, and his stomach clenched, twisting violently.

The last time he had gotten the same fucking spread so many times in a row, he had been kidnapped and held in a warehouse for three days. And that was not something the red-eyed teen was looking forward to repeating a second time.

He tapped his finger again and stared at the six cards that kept appearing effortlessly in front of him. The spread was almost completely the same as the last, but instead of having four cards up and two down, only two sat up and the others down.

Osiris rested face up, almost gleaming, when he glanced at the other cards. It had to have been a trick of the light, but it had persisted no matter how often he tried to convince himself. His eyes were starting to hurt from staring at the print for so long and his spine was too tense beneath his skin now.

His fingers shook for a moment as he shivered and swallowed hard, leaning back and looking the cards over. Ra rested downwards, Obelisk rested downwards, the Angel of Silence Doma sat upwards, Red Eyes was down, and Silver Fang was down.

It was not a coincidence that these six cards rested in front of him as they had before, only months ago. And that had nothing to do with the fact that he barely even believed in coincidence. Most of the time coincidence seemed to be planned when it came to him and he had no idea how to combat it at any rate.

He shook his head and grabbed at his hair for a moment; so death was once again prominent in his near future. That wasn't a surprise, however, as his dreams had been screaming yet the same thing, relentless in their attempts to get his attention. Yami closed his eyes to force away the images of blood and crushed bone that flashed in the forefront of his tired, anxious mind. Walls painted red and shredded blankets, curtains, a smashed headboard…

Yami shook his head to banish the thoughts and sat forward, the Puzzle burning until he felt it would brand his skin or catch his jeans alight. He squeezed his eyes shut again for a moment and then looked to his cards.

Ra lying before him as it was meant he had absolutely no power over the situation that was arising. Obelisk spoke of having no strength to fight whatever danger awaited him. Doma meant his senses would fail, an omen that he wasn't so keen on having repeated. Red Eyes in its current position meant he would have no control. Silver Fang downwards meant that he would not have even his instincts to guide him.

He chewed his cheek but knew there was nothing more he could do; the cards hadn't failed him before. And besides that, his own reading matched Yugi's completely, no matter how hard he tried to change it. There was nothing he could do to change anything and he was too tired to try now.

He glanced out the window and sighed quietly; it was too early for the video chat he had promised to have with the smaller teen. He would have to wait until early in the morning to hear his voice and see his face. Vaguely he wondered which he hoped for more—for Rebecca not to be there or for her to watch over his shoulder and throw in the occasional insult. The last time he had seen the blonde, she had smacked him upside the head and thrown cake at him when they had crossed paths at the café across from the Kame Game Shop Yugi's family owned.

He remembered the verbal lashing she had given him as clear as day, never even having to think it over. It sometimes echoed in his ears when he snuggled with the smaller boy at night. And always in that same hateful voice that made him feel sick to his stomach with regret.

"He told me what you did, you ungrateful little bastard. I know all about how you refused to even open the door and talk to him. He's miserable because of you, you know that, Atem? I've never seen him so fucking miserable before. I should gut you like a fish but then he'd hate me. And another thing—you know he should hate your guts for this but for some stupid reason he still loves you. You know what, Yami? If he isn't happy in the next three weeks, I'm going to slit your throat. Do you get that? I'm going to murder you, you pathetic piece of shit."

His stomach twisted at the small fleeting voice that passed through his mind. His legs itched for movement now and he was almost tempted to head to the game shop with the off chance that perhaps he would be there. Logically he knew that the other teen was with the blonde, that the shop was closed unless he went and opened it for business since Yugi had given him the key in case he thought he should. Yami would never admit it to him but he had snuck in there a couple of times just to lay in his bed because the sheets smelled so keenly of him.

He was well aware that it was not normal for him to feel so much pain when he was only gone for two weeks in the first place. But it was obvious that Yugi felt the same just because at times his voice came out desperate for his response when they spoke on the phone. Yami had spent the first week sneaking into his house, laying beneath his sheets, breathing in the warm scent that was the smaller teen. He had spent time wandering the house and game shop, occasionally straightening up because he felt he had to do something besides waste time there.

He guessed he hadn't outgrown that urge despite how long he had been out of his parents' physical reach. He felt his lips curl back at the very thought of them even in passing, getting to his feet. He had no plans to leave the house for the moment, too hungry to bother with much more than a journey to his kitchen. Vaguely he wished the other teen were there to greet him, holding a buttered blueberry bagel like he normally was when he first woke up on the weekends.

Yami tapped a nail against his table for a moment, glancing into the barren kitchen and chewing his cheek. Half the time he wanted to wreck everything in the stupid little room. He hated the way it remained so constantly clean but he was aware of just how stupid it would be to ruin it all. And some small part of him was paranoid with the idea that the moment he did so, his parents would appear at his door.

He leaned against the counter lazily, crossing his arms and closing his eyes tightly. In the loneliness of his house, it was impossible not to have memories creep through him like worms in the ground. It made him want to flee, made his heart constrict, his lungs feel weak. Most of the time he found himself almost dialing one of his cousins' numbers, desperate for company, but he had always forced it away. In the loneliness he also got time to think, despite the moments of fear and anxiety it bred.

The red-eyed teen opened his gaze into narrow slits of ruby and peered through his lashes towards the window. Yugi was still asleep in the states, probably in the same bed as Rebecca because he had mentioned to him that they had turned the guestroom into a storage unit. When he had told him, Yami wasn't sure what he had expected from him, but he knew he wasn't hearing things when he had caught the surprise leaking into the smaller boy's voice.

A small rapping noise made him lift his head and listen before heading for the door when it repeated. He glanced through the peephole and then threw the door open, not bothering to greet his visitor.

The pale brown-eyed white-haired boy wandered inside without hesitation, knowing without thought it was the only greeting he would get as far as the other was concerned. Since Yugi had left, he had started talking less but he had also become slightly more complacent towards his visits again. Since he had drugged him before and dragged him out to get wasted, Yami hadn't been nearly as nice as he had formerly. He was lucky most of the time if he could just get him to sit still and let him listen to his breathing.

Regardless he went about saying, "Hello Yami" with a warm smile that the other merely shot him a disdainful look in response to. Ryou shrugged it off easily and tossed his backpack onto the floor, digging through some of his medical books to grab his stethoscope.

He was supposed to stay there for a few hours, in which Yami's cousin Malik would take up looking after him. Yami didn't technically need someone looking after him but Ryou was growing more and more worried that he was spiraling towards depression. He wasn't sure if it was because Yugi wasn't around at the moment or if it was just that he was finally cracking beneath some of the strain he had been put under growing up. But either way, he didn't want the red-eyed teen to sink. He couldn't imagine Yugi being too happy about it nor his cousins truly understanding it.

He actually thought that maybe Malik had an idea of it because he suddenly seemed pretty eager to spend more time with his cousin where as they formerly only interacted when it was absolutely necessary. He hadn't questioned it, knowing he would never get an answer, and so he was still stuck speculating everything.

Then again, he wasn't complaining. Sometimes observing and speculating did him better than sticking his nose deep into their business. Trying to get past the surface always ended up dangerous for him. Yugi wanted his head and he would have it if it wasn't for Yami needing examinations every day or so. Seto and Bakura both shared the thought that they were required to interact with him but he was kept so far out of range that there was nothing he could do to dig into anything concerning them. Malik was friendly but if he made the wrong move or said something even remotely inappropriate he tended to stare him down like a cat did a mouse.

"So, I need you to sit on the armrest," he announced, the other teen pausing from where he was about to disappear into the kitchen. Yami stopped for a split second, seeming to think it over, and then snorted and headed off into the small room. Ryou heard the distinct sound of the fridge door being opened; he sighed and shook his head, leaning against the backrest of the couch lazily. He was pretty sure that Yami was more or less an early riser and it begged the question of what he had been doing instead of having breakfast.

"How are your lungs?" he called out, straining his ears and blinking when Yami came around to look at him with fierce red eyes. He wasn't sure what he had been doing before he had arrived but whatever it was, it had set him into one of his more violent moods. He could see the way his eyes had grown a shade darker from their usual hue of intense ruby. His skin crawled, remembering the few times he had witnessed him with this look to his eyes. It was like a gray film covered his dark eyes and it brought out the worst in him when he spoke or did anything in general.

He had shown that same trait when he had knocked Alister out and then gone after Ushio in the cafeteria at school. He remembered the story from Marik, how he had leaped off the top of a set of lockers and attacked Ushio after gym. He recognized the look from when he had nearly shot his father at the dock only two months before.

Now the look was directed towards him and he had the instinct to flee but had to fight it down, unsure of what else to do. Yami needed someone with him for a little while—he would need someone for a bit longer. He had reopened both gunshot wounds and gotten them both infected just recently. He couldn't lift anything heavy for the time being or put any stress on his side…

"Fine," he said slowly, voice dropping to a hollow icy tone. "They're fine. I'm fine. Tired. Now, I'm trying to eat breakfast so if you could just shut up, that might be nice."

Ryou swallowed hard, nodding at the way that he narrowed his eyes into slits and his lip curled back slightly. In the two-second window it took him to actually do so, Yami was back inside the kitchen. He would have gone to help him, to talk and keep him company, make sure he didn't do anything against the doctor's orders, but he knew better. It would be instantaneous if he got in his space. He wouldn't have a chance and Yami would skewer him like a fish.

He waited a long thirty minutes while Yami simply decided what to eat, then another ten while he cooked something that smelled like pancakes and eggs, and then another twenty while he took an excruciatingly long time eating. Yami had made a point of glancing at him, chewing extremely slowly, swallowing and then turning away again to repeat the process. And if not for the fact that he had drugged him for answers before, he would have been flustered and demanding a reason why he was acting like this.

Then again, he remembered Yugi was angrier by far and Yami had been rather calm about it. He was wondering if it was Yugi being gone that made Yami so ready to snap at him. Perhaps he hadn't been nearly as calm as he had initially thought and Yugi being there had subdued his temper, distracted him from wanting to wring his neck. Ryou wondered vaguely when Yugi got back from the states…

Ryou stayed silent until Yami finally came out of the kitchen after doing the dishes and took up the job of seating himself on the armrest impatiently. He crossed his legs, narrowing his eyes and giving him a look that told him to hurry up, and the white-haired boy raced to do his task. Yami let him glide the stethoscope along his skin, breathing in deeply when he said, exhaling when he told him. The red-eyed teen even mumbled the word "ninety-nine" as he had done for the doctor at the hospital.

Ryou was happy with his cooperation but the results sucked. His lungs were still full of fluid, soot that made him rasp as he breathed. Each inhale was accompanied by a gentle sloshing that made him feel sick to his stomach with worry. Yami seemed pretty healthy though, aside from the way he constantly seemed to reopen his wounds without seeming to give an actual shit about it.

"Are you still doing as you were told before?" he asked softly, frowning as his brows furrowed.

"Elderberry every morning and followed up at night," Yami stated dismissively, getting to his feet and wandering towards his patio doors, glancing out into the backyard and turning back to him after a moment. "Grapefruit seed extract mixed in water, wash sinuses…I either bend over and pour it until it drains from the other side or with a nasal spray bottle—lots of sprays, always bending over and spraying until I feel like I'm drowning and then I blow my nose. I repeat as needed or as long as I can actually handle it. If I cough, I use the expectorant I have. I breathe in steam—hot peppers to get the sinuses to run and loosen the gunk. Or I can eat stuffed peppers if I want to. Lobelia extract—Aerobic Oxygen or 35% Hydrogen Peroxide in mix of ten drops and distilled water."

Ryou frowned, unsure of how to respond but guessing that he probably did everything so often that it was drilled effortlessly into his head by now. "Okay," he muttered, watching the red-eyed teen trace patterns on the table in front of him. "Um…if there's nothing else…?"

"You can't leave yet. Malik is coming later—it'll be a couple of hours," he muttered dismissively, flattening his palms against the smooth tabletop and smirking slightly as he raised his head. "Besides, I want to know more about the ketamine you gave me. Because, slowly but surely, my splotchy recollection of that night is disappearing and I'm not so happy about that."

He cringed and took a seat on the armrest Yami had formerly occupied. "Yami, I'm so sorry—"

"I didn't ask for an apology," he spat viciously, cutting him off immediately. "I asked for information."

He flinched and looked at the floor, trying to make himself seem smaller for a split second. "It's an…animal tranquilizer. It's used to…induce anesthesia. It…um, well…it works in the brain to inhibit painful sensations." He sighed and ran a hand through his bangs, knowing instinctively that Yami was still watching him with eyes like sharpened knives. "It's…a dissociative anesthetic, actually. It distorts perceptions of sight and sound and produces feelings of detachment from the environment and self. It's extremely fast-acting. You might be aware of what is happening to you, but you are completely unable to move. It tends to cause memory problems. You might not be able to remember what happened while you were drugged."

"I didn't tell you to stop," Yami spat after a long minute of silence had passed. "Tell me what the fuck you did to me!"

He recoiled. "It causes distorted perceptions of sight and sound, lost sense of time and identity, out of body experiences, dream-like feelings, feeling out of control, impaired motor function, problems breathing, convulsions, vomiting, memory problems, numbness, loss of coordination, aggressive or violent behavior, depression, high blood pressure, and slurred speech."

"And waking up feeling heavily hung over and disoriented?" the other teen demanded icily, glaring at him furiously. "Having no memory of a period of time?"

"…That's something that often happens, yeah."

Yami narrowed his eyes and then turned away, breathing roughly once. "More. How did you do it?"

"It wasn't hard," he muttered, dragging his eyes up to glance at the furious teen. "Ketamine can be swallowed, snorted or injected. It's also sometimes smoked in cannabis or tobacco. The effects of ketamine are normally experienced within thirty seconds of injection, five to ten minutes if it's snorted, and up to twenty minutes if it's swallowed. I crushed a pill and dropped it into your drink when you weren't looking."

Yami narrowed his eyes. "I don't remember ordering any alcohol…"

"I wouldn't have drugged you if you had gotten alcohol!" Ryou objected immediately, looking affronted by the very thought and feeling almost sick when Yami raised his head and glared into his eyes. He wanted to look away but the other boy had to know that he hadn't meant to hurt him. "I would have just tried to get you drunk enough that you talked about what was going on between you and Yugi. I—"

"I have no care for why you drugged me," he hissed, lowering his voice and baring his teeth. "No, what I care about is what it has done to me. Because I know for a fact that you gave me far too much to merely get information."

"I…I gave you a little more than I planned," he admitted awkwardly, ducking his head in shame. "That was why you couldn't move when we got you out of the bar. It was why you almost threw up all over Yugi—which you somehow managed not to do. Your body temperature spiked halfway through us getting you back and your heartbeat was way too fast. You were vomiting everywhere…and before I left, when you woke up, I know you were muttering about how your muscles hurt."

"You were there when I woke up?"

"I…yeah. I was there for all of five seconds before I fled for my house. I thought you were probably going to do what Yugi didn't and actually mutilate me."

"You say that as if you think I won't do it now," he snarled softly, narrowing his eyes. "Speak, you little brat. Tell me more."

"Um…the day after usually gives you memory loss and impaired judgment and disorientation…There's also clumsiness, aches and pains and depression."

Yami stiffened for a split second and then turned his head away to look out in the yard. Sunlight dappled some of the grass from where its beams made it through the layer of leaves from the trees. Long shadows painted half of the yard dark green like holly berry leaves and the other beneath the sun seemed unnaturally bright, with a disgusting yellowish tint to it.

Depression—how lovely.

As if he didn't already have the threat of that looming over him.

He closed his eyes for a moment, the blades of grass and the concrete of his patio setting off a discolored pattern behind his eyelids. He reached up and rubbed his temples, shaking his head slowly.

"Get the fuck out of my house," he breathed coldly. "Get out now before I do what Yugi didn't and I have to bury you in the backyard."

Ryou was gone before he raised his head to look at the armrest again a few moments later. The soft click of the door made him breathe roughly once, listening to the whistle of air in his lungs, and he thought he could hear the soft tick of a clock somewhere in the house.


"Yami!"

He blinked, slightly surprised by the enthusiasm in his voice, and raised his head some, looking at the blue-violet-eyed boy on his screen. The white light on the side of his laptop's built-in camera struck at his attention but not enough to make him truly care. "Hey, Yugi," he murmured quietly, glancing around him and deeper into the room he occupied. The walls were a soft pink, a couple of posters littered the drywall, the bed's comforter looked to be purple with symbols thrown around in its design. He could see a closet door half open, a laundry hamper near it…

"Oh, he actually answered?" a voice hissed snidely. "Well isn't that new?"

Yugi turned his head, distracted for a split second, and then spun back on the other boy with a bright grin. "How are you?" he demanded, glancing sideways for a split second and narrowing his eyes before snickering.

Yami stayed silent for a moment, almost tempted to ask him about that night but deciding against it when he realized he would have to hear Rebecca's input as well. "I'm okay," he muttered, his head spinning with guilt for a split second. He probably should have tried to get Yugi alone, without Rebecca there listening, so he could try to get off his chest some of the things that currently plagued his mind. But instead he found himself forcing a light smile onto his face, glancing subconsciously at his own reflection in the bottom of the screen and feeling his stomach twist. Was the guilt noticeable in his eyes? Would Yugi notice the slight bags that were forming from his constant nightmares? Was it obvious that he was leaning further to his left than his right? Could he tell that he was frustrated? What could he see in him that he could not hide away? "How are you?"

"I'm good," the smaller boy stated immediately, glancing once more off-screen and sighing softly with a roll of his eyes. He swore that if Rebecca didn't stop showing off that drawing of two stick figures fucking he was going to lose his mind. It was cute the first time, considering what he was hoping so terribly to get out of Yami with this video chat, but now it was starting to grate on his nerves. "Rebecca says that she hates you."

"Ah yes, the mutual emotion," Yami stated, crossing his arms and laying his chin on his hands, watching as Yugi took in the new posture with suspicious eyes. "Is she still so bitter?"

"Hey, at least if he was dating me, he could be assured that I would never ignore him for weeks on end like that," the blonde's voice chimed in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Yugi watched his eyes flash with bright pain before he shifted awkwardly and returned the barb with a crude, "Yes, why worry when he'll merely have to check his ass for your head?"

He snorted, shaking his head and covering his mouth as the girl let out an indignation squawk of a noise. Yami smirked playfully at him, winking and settling more comfortably once more. Rebecca narrowed her eyes from where she sat a few feet away, rearranging her bookshelf for the third time just that week. He knew for a fact that she only did it to get on his nerves and so that she had an excuse to listen in on his conversations by pretending to be unhappy with the arrangements she had resting before her.

"I bet his ass is warmer than your heart."

The red-eyed teen bristled slightly and then rolled his eyes. "Definitely. It's like a pool of lava where my heart is a windy tundra," he drawled, taking a glance towards the clock in the corner of the screen.

"He claims he actually has one," he heard her scoff.

"I actually do. It's suffering terrible erosion, however. Very hollow on the inside. The walls are being scraped apart. Eventually it will dissolve into nothing and maybe Yugi will find himself falling for you," he murmured softly, smiling when the other teen scoffed and rolled his eyes before blushing furiously and staring at something off-screen. He guessed Rebecca was giving him the evil eye as she had when they had crossed paths at the café.

"What? I can't help it!" he cried, sitting up and throwing his hands up innocently. "It was funny. Don't look at me like that, Becs!"

Yami heard her huffing softly from somewhere he couldn't see but Yugi was clearly laughing at the sight, rolling his eyes and shaking his head before plopping back into place. He watched him move his palms to support his chin, eyes bright as they searched his momentarily.

"So, have you gotten bored enough to open shop yet?" he asked, batting his eyes playfully as he moved a hand to his chest. "Because I just know I was your number one source of entertainment."

He smiled softly, wrinkling his nose teasingly. "Bending you over was my absolute source of entertainment."

"Ooh, them's be fighting words."

"Ha," Rebecca crowed loudly. "As if. He's just stating the truth."

Yugi gawked at her for a moment while Yami burst out laughing, the deep baritone chuckles making his cheeks heat with embarrassment for a split second. "Son of a bitch," he muttered under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. "You two are such assholes. Why do I even like either of you?"

"Because I'm the best sex you've ever had?" Yami offered, raising a brow and trying to give him a seductive smile that looked almost creepy as Yugi snorted and snickered.

"Because I'm the one that's going to point out how wrong you are for choosing him over me?" the blonde offered a split second later, making the smaller boy's smile fall completely for a moment. The left side of his mouth tugged downwards into a grimace, his eyes wandering towards her again before he turned back. "And then when you regret it all, I'll be the one listening to it and pointing out just how much better I would be for you."

He opened his mouth to speak again—and he could see that Yami wasn't about to defend himself just because he recognized the withdrawal in his eyes—but Yugi cut him off immediately, snapping, "Yeah, well, in the meantime he can be my best regret, now can't he, Rebecca?" in such a sharp voice that he swore he heard her stop moving altogether. His jaw set in frustration, eyes flashing, Yugi glared at her from the side of the laptop, lips curling back in pure anger as he watched her for a moment. She studiously went about sorting through several covers of her books, ignoring him pointedly.

"Yugi," he murmured, trying to soothe some of the hurt that flared in his eyes. The smaller teen's head snapped towards him, frustrated, and his mouth opened momentarily, about to lash out at him before he stopped abruptly. He breathed in deeply, huffing viciously, and then ducked his head and settled for chewing his cheek instead. "Hey, so you're coming back in a few days."

Yugi almost snapped at him that he already knew that, bristling with contempt that Yami wasn't even trying to defend himself from her snide attack. He huffed again and turned to him, eyes blazing as he glowered at him. "Yeah," he answered shortly, "I am."

Why the hell didn't he even defend himself?

Why did he take that crap from her?

He knew he loved him back, so why the hell did not argue with her?

He had to know how furious it always made him when he took an insult. He had to know just how darkly he resented it when he merely took a blow and didn't care to return one. Yami had to know that he grew tired of watching that hurt flash in his eyes without even a single consideration towards retaliation.

Why did he do that?

Did he really think it wasn't worth defending himself?

Yugi wished he could reach through the damn camera lens and smack him for it.

The taller teen narrowed his eyes faintly, red gaze flashing minutely with challenge. The smaller noticed in that second that the Puzzle's chain hung around his neck, glistening with some kind of artificial light whose source he couldn't find. Or perhaps it was just glowing. It had done that several times. And he wouldn't be surprised if it was doing so now.

He remembered holding it in the hospital, the way the artifact had burned everyone else that came into contact with it but had mercifully spared him. He remembered the way its deceptively smooth edges dug into his abdomen when he had kissed him the day his father had visited. Those edges contained all the threat of a double-edged sharpened sword. The polished gold sides were deceptively smooth, nice beneath one's fingers, but the edges spoke of danger and ill intent and he had always been sure never to touch them if it was avoidable.

"Anything special you wanted to do when you get back?"

Yugi felt a small prick of irritation beneath his skin and then instant guilt and a small warmth of affection. Trust Yami to try to change the subject when he knew he was angry. Trust him to try to soothe some of his irritation even if he went about it the wrong way at times.

"Not really," he admitted, glancing curiously towards Rebecca since she was so quiet; when had she left the room? He sat up and looked around for a long minute but he also noticed immediately that the door was shut where it had previously been open. So she had left him to his own devices with his boyfriend. He didn't know whether to be relieved that she had actually left for him to speak to him alone or frustrated that she had ditched him so suddenly. He was nowhere near close to asking Yami what he had been dying to do so for the two hours he had been awake.

"Nothing jumps to mind?"

"No. Should it?"

"No, I suppose not. I just thought maybe you had something in mind to do when you came back."

He nearly laughed out loud. He had an idea of what he planned to do when they were together again. He did. He had so many plans for when they got together, most of them with Yami sprawled beneath him, flushed and pleasured out of his mind, but he had no plans to tell him that.

"Not really. Do you have plans?"

"No."

He raised a brow and peered at him thoughtfully for a long moment; did Yami look a little different today? He furrowed his brows after a moment, narrowing his eyes and searching his face until Yami finally squirmed, giving him a confused look. His eyes were a little darker today, lacking the gray film that came with the Puzzle's influence, but definitely darker. They had a more solid hue to them than usual whereas they were normally mesmerizing with the beautiful flecks of every shade of red he could imagine lingering in his sharp irises.

Was that maroon?

Yugi couldn't honestly tell. It could have just been the lighting in his room as well. But his eyes were one uniform color, which was something that didn't often happen. Normally they showed with every fleck of the color, changed to a shade to reflect his mood but retained a little bit of brightness around his pupils.

He remembered looking up the shades of red a long while back, when he had first slept with the other boy, before they started dating. He'd been unable to sleep one night and his mind had traveled somewhere along the lines of either Yami's eyes or just the color red in general. Either way, he had taken note of each shade and tried to match it to his eyes whenever it was possible. And it was almost always possible because his eyes changed to every shade when he really fell into a certain mood.

"Yugi?"

His eyes were a little brighter but still pretty dark all the same. It was merely the curiosity that gave his irises a shift in color.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," he stated, shrugging off his attempt to figure out the color of his gaze. "So you don't have any plans for when I get back either huh?"

"No, I figured if I was going to make plans, I would do it with you instead of around you," Yami stated, blinking and looking skeptical of his response for a moment. "That aside, how has Rebecca been treating you?"

"Oh, you know…um…she tries to be sweet but it comes off as a little clingy. And it's not too often she has something actually…nice to say…" He trailed off, frowning and feeling a small pang of discomfort twisting in his gut. By the gods, why didn't Yami try to fight back with her? He wished he would have. It made no sense for him not to.

"Yeah, well, there aren't many nice things to say about that," he stated, shrugging dismissively. "But aside from that?"

"The states suck. I feel like every time I eat something I'll wake up three hundred pounds heavier." He glowered when Yami snorted a laugh. "Don't snicker at me! It's a serious concern! Have you ever seen the serving sizes here?"

He smiled softly, rolling his eyes. "I have," he stated simply. "Japan was not my father's first choice, Yugi."

The smaller teen considered that statement for a moment and then nodded a little. Yami's father had only sent Yami to Japan in the first place because of his mother's pleas on his behalf. If not for that, he would have ended up at the states. He'd probably be a miserable hollow thing of skin and bones, but he would have pleased his parents. Most likely Yami would never have heard about Mokuba's accident, would never have ended up getting drunk and then shacking up with someone else. Certainly not him, considering…

He shook his head slightly, throwing the idea aside. He didn't want to dwell on his boyfriend's parents, the pathetic fucking monsters that they were. He didn't want to think about what would have happened if he had gone to the states rather than Japan. Yami was too much a part of his life—had been possibly from the moment he even laid eyes on him—and the very thought made him sick.

"Yeah, well…try staying here for more than a week. It makes you feel like some kind of parasite is living inside of you trying to make you bloated," he sniped, smiling lopsidedly when Yami chuckled and shook his head with a roll of his eyes. "I swear every time I put a piece of food in my mouth I'm just wondering when I'm going to puff up like someone wearing heavy clothing in winter."

"So fond of the American culture," he teased.

He grinned. "But of course, my dear little darkness," he purred. "I have such fondness in my heart that it's mind boggling."

"Sounds a little scary," he commented playfully, raising a brow and smiling a little. "You sure that parasite isn't messing with your brain and trying to make you love its homeland?"

Yugi gagged and then covered his mouth, blushing when the taller burst out laughing. He held his hands up, huffing. "There is no way in all the seven circles of hell that this could ever be a place that I could love," he muttered, shaking his head. "It's just so…polluted. And everything seems so different and weird and…half the time I think war is going to break out over whether someone wears the right purse with their outfit. Plus…most of the states don't even support gay marriage and it's a little unsettling being in a place where it's pretty obvious that they're against everything involving homosexuality."

"I thought San Francisco supported gay marriage."

"The last time I checked, yeah, but I mean, it's still so weird. The state might support it, but that doesn't mean all the people do. I ran into a homophobic security guard at the mall just two days ago. And just…no, I don't like it here."

Yami nodded a little, neither of them mentioning that their own relationship was severely disapproved of. Their classmates shunned them, some tried to mess with them, and others just treated it like they had the plague. But it was more because they had messed up the social hierarchy at the school. Yami was still unsure of how it was such a massive deal that the two of them had ended up sleeping together in the first place. The social structure had never made sense to him; he wasn't sure if that was because of being home-schooled for so many years or if it was simply because he hadn't cared enough about it in the first place. It could have been a mixture but he didn't care enough to truly consider finding the answer to that. Either way, the nerd hadn't been meant to cross paths with the school's badass and their little affair had apparently shaken most of the students. Why it mattered to anyone else was beyond him but either way, it had happened, and he had grown so accustomed to it that the thought of the homophobia Yugi was talking about failed to make him blink. Japan more or less supported homosexual relationships, resting in neutrality, and so it was hardly anything he really thought about as it was.

Had it been Egypt, he would have been ashamed to even consider the idea of same sex relationships, something that had been drilled into his head all his life. He had never really cared if it happened or not but he had been taught to shy away from it. Yami shook the idea off and closed his eyes instead.

"So that aside, how has your stay been?"

"All in all it's been okay. Grandpa is having fun at least."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhmm. He seems to like the whole American experience but I think that's more because Arthur is fun to be around. Anyways, all in all it's been fun at least. Arthur and Rebecca never really leave a day open for nothing to do so we're normally running around—I think we're going to the art museum later today? And a…war museum tomorrow? I don't know. Grandpa and Arthur planned it out—lots of museums."

Yami chuckled and opened his eyes to find the expected roll of blue-violet eyes. "Well at least you're learning?"

"Uh, no," the smaller deadpanned, rolling his eyes once more with a soft scoff of a noise. "The most I've learned is how Rebecca likes to put her gum in a straw and shoot it at people when their outfits are hideous. She says she's preparing for a job among the fashion police later in life but we all know it's just because she likes to shoot wads of gum at people."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Well isn't that a nice little hobby."

"Entertaining at least. You should see some of the mystified, disgusted and comically insulted faces that some of the people make when they see that wad of gum and can't figure out where it came from."

"How many has she hit so far?"

"About fifty people at each place."

"Fucking—does she chew like a cow or something? I can't even chew fifty pieces in one day."

Yugi laughed. "I can usually chew about fifteen but then I get tired of the flavors and chewing in general. It's a daunting task."

"I can tell."

"Ha, I bet you haven't even tried it before," he scoffed playfully, rolling his eyes and glancing towards the door for a second; he was kind of expecting her to come running back in at any second. The fact that she hadn't done so before now was almost unnerving in its own right.

"Oh gods, tell me you haven't been shooting people with chewed bubble gum."

Yugi stared at the door to keep from looking at him, biting his lip and pretending to be preoccupied with his nails after a moment. "Oh, look, a hangnail!"

"Oh my gods." He pressed his hand into his face and shook his head, sighing loudly. "I'm dating a deviant who shoots people with fucking gum balls that his friend taught him to make."

He pursed his lips for a moment and then snickered softly. "Hey, I'm cute enough that you can just…ignore that bad habit of mine, right?"

"I can't ignore anything about you," Yami snorted, rolling his eyes and scowling. "You're just too damn cute to ignore or forget something about you."

"Aw," Yugi teased, batting his lashes as he put a hand to his chest. "You flatter me so."

The taller teen grinned widely, snickering and shaking his head before glancing at the clock on the corner of the screen and fighting off the urge to rub his eyes. Curse the time difference. He was getting his ass kicked so easily with the lull of sleep. He'd have to change that by the time Yugi came back home.

"Tired?"

Yami rolled his eyes slightly and then shrugged. "It's two here after all," he muttered.

Yugi cringed and nibbled at his nail for a moment; he hated that his grandpa and Arthur kept them out literally all day. They woke them generally at ten to eleven and got them back home around twelve. Yami probably hadn't slept at all in terms of naps or anything else. "So—"

"How about you stop now before I decide to beat you up when you get back?" the taller sniped, rolling his eyes. "I'm not that tired. Keep talking."

He tilted his head after a moment, licking his lips and making Yami narrow his eyes faintly in curiosity. "How about I…help you with that?" he asked silkily, the taller blinking and then frowning in puzzlement. "I know a way to make you really tired…"

He blinked twice and then turned his head away, chuckling. "You did not just insinuate what I think you just did."

"And if I did?"

"Do you want me to say no nicely or do you want me to be nasty?"

"Ooh, you're giving me a choice?" Yami turned his head, smirking with his eyebrow raised as the smaller boy's voice lifted in a singsong tone. "Hmm…well…why don't you…hit me with your best shot?"

He stared at him for a moment and then narrowed his eyes, scowling for a split second. "No," he grumbled, rolling his eyes and laying his head back down on his crossed arms. "I'm not having sex with you over video chat—just like I won't do phone sex with you either. Honestly, Yugi, what is wrong with you?"

He opened and closed his mouth and then curled his lip back. "Forgive me for listening to my hormones a little bit," he snapped, feeling a small blush of something akin humiliation start to cross his cheeks. He'd known this wouldn't work but he'd wanted to at least try. After constant rejection of phone sex, he was starting to grow restless and unhappy. "You should try doing that some time."

Red eyes narrowed minutely. "Oh? And what would the point be of me doing that?"

"Relaxation? I mean, come on, you're normally knocked out hard when we have sex," he stated, growing flustered with the way Yami looked slightly affronted by the statement. "And besides, all couples do it!"

"It sounds degrading."

"Why the hell would it…?" Yugi shook his head and frowned at him unhappily. "Degrading? How would it be degrading, Yami? That makes no sense."

"Well, first of all, I would be doing this on video. Second, I know that Rebecca isn't completely gone and will probably pop up at any moment and I do not wish to be doing something like that in front of her. Third, I'm more or less positive that you can actually pull video footage from this. And fourth, having video sex with you just to go sleep seems a little…"

Yugi waited for him to finish the statement but realized after a long moment that he wasn't going to. The smaller teen opened his mouth to snap at him to say it, but fell silent immediately, realization crossing his face. Aside from the idea of having something of footage of them, the concept of having video sex with him just to fall asleep made him think that he was using him like they had done when they had first started sleeping together. They had both used each other as distractions and ways to get out of the stressful situations they were in and Yami was reminded of that with his suggestion.

"Oh." He stayed silent for a long minute and then sighed and fell over onto his side on the bed, fighting off a groan. He knew already that he didn't have to tell him that it wouldn't be like that but even if he had somehow managed to convince him it was okay, it would still be there in the back of his head. One of the things that Yugi had grown to realize about the red-eyed boy was that he unconsciously dwelled on things without even meaning to. And when he dwelled on something, there was no changing his mind because it circulated back to it constantly. "Well, there goes any chance of Mr. Happy springing to life tonight."

Yami blushed furiously and then ducked his head. "Oh, well tell him I apologize."

Yugi snorted and rolled his eyes, moving onto his back and stretching himself out like a cat for a moment. "Yeah, you better apologize to him. He was looking forward to it all day and now he's getting nothing."

"Many apologies, Mr. Happy," he cooed quietly. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay dormant for a little while longer."

"You suck. Hard."

"Actually, I believe that's your job, little one."

He rolled over and glared. "You cheeky little tease."

"Oh yes, definitely. I am a cheeky little tease."

"Said with such happiness."

"I'm just glad my attempts are so very appreciated."

"Ha, they're nothing but a pain in my ass."

"For some reason I thought that would be reversed."

Yugi's eyes narrowed, lips curling up into a lopsided smirk. "Damn straight it will. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be one with the mattress."

"You know, someone once told me they became one with a rock," the taller teen commented, voice taking on a somewhat awkwardly thoughtful tone. "He said that once he cleared his mind and accepted the rock, it flashed him."

Yugi threw his head back, howling and nearly falling off the bed after a minute, lungs and ribs starting to ache. He glanced at Yami again through his lashes, tears in his eyes, and found the most contemplative expression he had ever seen. His brows were knitted faintly, his eyes narrowed, lips taking on a small purse, head tilted to the side, chin raised slightly where it rested on his knuckles. "Oh my god!"

"Apparently rocks are very complex creatures," the taller teen commented, smirking playfully when he started to fall off the bed. "Flashed him so many colors that it 'changed his life'."

"Who the fuck told you that?" he gasped out, wiping his eyes and grabbing the comforter before scrambling to get closer to the center of the mattress.

Yami bit his lip for a moment and then looked at the ceiling. "I think it might have been my uncle?" he muttered thoughtfully. "Either it was him or Malik was stoned. I don't remember. They're all fucking crazy."

He curled up into a ball for a moment, face too red and entire body shaking with his laughter. "Oh my god," he breathed out, shaking his head and looking at his boyfriend to find him snickering softly. "Are you serious right now?"

"Oh yes. And what makes it even better is just how proud and excited they were when they told me."

"That sounds more like something I could see Bakura saying," Yugi admitted, biting his lip and then managing to settle down just enough to breathe raggedly. In all actuality he didn't know Yami's cousins very well but from overall interactions, he thought maybe Bakura was the more likely of the two to get stoned. Malik seemed more like someone he could see tripping on acid and doing the harder stuff. Bakura was more…managed when it came down to it, or at least Yugi thought so anyways.

"Oh no, it definitely wasn't Bakura because he was actually next to me in stitches and had to leave the room for an hour and a half," he commented mirthfully. "I remember his response too. 'Oh holy fuck, I can't breathe—fucking morons'."

Yugi grinned widely. He may not have known Bakura or Malik past a couple of conversations revolving around Yami, but he knew Bakura had a mouth stained black with cursing. Malik was more mild but he had seen him lose his temper at one point, cursing out a teacher so violently in the hallway that he got detention for a whole two months. But that definitely sounded like Bakura—the silver-haired teen just plain cursed as much as he wanted in general, without a second thought. And when he was laughing, he seemed to let loose more curses than anything else.

"Definitely Bakura," he snorted, rolling his eyes and watching his boyfriend nod before looking briefly towards the ceiling. "How long ago was this anyways?"

Yami had to take a long minute to consider, head starting to take on a small throb in the forefront of his skull. "Hmm…I would have to say a couple of years back? Well, definitely before I came to Domino. Bakura and Malik used to go to Egypt every now and then—it was rare but every couple of years or so they used to. I think it might have been the winter before I came to Domino maybe? I think Bakura's parents might have been the ones to help my mother convince my father to let me move down here…"

Yugi tried hard not to spit at him not to call them that. Half the time he wanted to smack him for even mentioning them in a conversation. They weren't parents worth shit. And they didn't deserve to be called that, even in passing. They had disowned him months ago but Yugi had never once heard him address them as much more than an unhappy "mom" or "mother" and always "father". It had been drilled into him that his parents were to be given far more respect than they deserved, his "father" especially, and all his life he had called his "father" by that title. Yugi hated hearing the words coming out of his mouth, always wanted to tell him to call them something generic like his "sperm donor" and "incubator" because when it came down to it, that was all they were as far as he was concerned. They didn't deserve the respect that they had tried to force him to learn and they didn't have the right to be called parents either. Especially not Yami's.

He blinked at the screen thoughtfully and then frowned; Yugi was trying not to show his disdain but his eyes were flashing with open hatred and his jaw had grown fixed…

"Yugi…"

The smaller teen turned his head away, huffing loudly and letting out a growling noise from deep in his throat before looking at him again. "So, your uncle? You've never mentioned him before. What's he like?"

Yami stayed quiet for a moment. "Dead apparently," he commented with a dry smirk before shrugging. "Apparently I wasn't the only one who had their ties cut with the ambassador and his wife. That aside…I don't really know him. I met him all of twice in my life. He's twins with my dad though but they apparently…hate each other or something. I don't really know, in all actuality."

Yugi stayed silent and then nodded slowly. "Oh. Did you like him when you met him?"

"Like him?" He had to consider the question, frowning and tilting his head. "He's…a lot like my father, actually. All about control and manipulation. But he wasn't…as obvious, I suppose you could say. If he put his mind to it, he could probably convince someone that they had a brain tumor where there was none. I remember a lot of stories about how much of a bastard he is but nothing that I cared to really listen to. I only remember him trying to…"

Yugi frowned and waited as Yami trailed off for a second.

Eyebrows furrowed as his head throbbed a little more persistently, the taller mumbled, "I only really remember him trying to make me side with him when he was over. I don't even really remember what he looks like or anything. Just some small bits of his personality…"

"You don't remember him? Why wouldn't you remember him?"

From what he knew, Yami tended to have a photogenic memory and retained almost everything until he decided he didn't need it anymore. Then it was stored somewhere in the back of his mind and only drawn forward again when he truly needed it. But he couldn't really fathom Yami doing that with a family member. Especially when he himself didn't seem to have much of a problem with them as far as he could tell.

Yami opened and closed his mouth and then sighed loudly. "Because those times he was there, I was either sick or my dad refused to let me actually look at his face. He said something about him being too much of a disgrace for his son to look upon or something. And I wasn't so stupid as to think my father wouldn't beat me within half an inch of my life if I did look at his face."

Yugi breathed out roughly. "And the other one?"

He took a second to realize he meant his mother, frowning faintly at the thought. "She wouldn't have stopped him." He shrugged uncomfortably and barely resisted the urge to reach up and rub his throbbing temple. "She goes by everything he says anyways."

He gripped the comforter tightly for a moment, the fibers itchy against his palm. "Yeah, all right," he muttered. Stupid worthless woman; how dare she just stand by and watch her husband beat her son like that. He almost wished he could meet her just so that he could tear her a new one. But he always wondered if she was even vaguely like her husband, if she was just as intimidating. It wouldn't have mattered if he could get his hands on her, but he still always had to wonder. It was pretty obvious that Yami actually got most of his looks from his father, with exception of the long lashes and the narrow eyes. But his sharp jaw and the depth in his red eyes, the way he held himself—he knew deep inside of him, despite how much he hated to attribute anything concerning Yami to the bastard—came from the ambassador.

His eyes softened from where they had been glittering jewels colored blue-violet, smiling gently. "You should get some rest."

Yami blinked wide red eyes, startled by the statement and then frowned faintly. "Perhaps," he muttered softly. In retrospect, he was tired and did want to curl up on his side, lay down and put a rest to the pain in his head. But sleep? He would rather have Pegasus come back from the grave and stab him through the heart like he had done to him.

"Seriously, koi, go to sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

He opened his mouth to argue but ended up yawning instead, sighing after a moment. "Yeah, all right," he muttered, chewing his cheek. "I'll call you tomorrow—"

Yugi raised a brow questioningly. "Ha, you call me? Nice try. You know you call me and I'm asleep and I'll ignore you for the next week," he teased, though a small bit of seriousness lingered in his eyes that made Yami blush faintly.

"Right, forgot about that," he chuckled softly, ducking his head. "I forget sometimes why it's only you who calls me every night."

"Well then, I'm glad I could remind you," the smaller snickered. He glanced towards the door for a moment and then turned back. "Night, darkness…may you have just as frustrating sex dreams as me."

Yami burst out laughing. "Aw, how sweet of you to say that." Yugi blinked when he saw something flash in his eyes, a momentary shift in color that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He wanted to call him out on it but Yami was immediately over it again, smiling. "Night, little one."

Yugi almost hit the exit button but remembered just before he could. "Love you."

He stayed silent for a split second, almost as if hesitating but looking far more lost in thought than he could have if he was merely trying to consider saying the words back. "I love you too, Yugi," he stated after a moment, hitting the red X in the corner of the screen and narrowing his eyes.

He wondered if he could avoid him. He was silent, after all, and normally he would have spoken by now if he had need of saying something. But his head was starting to throb a little more and his patience was slowly but surely wearing thin with that idea. He had to be there for a reason…

Yami glanced at him sideways for a moment and then straightened into a seated position, tapping his fingers against the keyboard briefly. "What brought you out? I haven't seen you in a while, Atem," he murmured quietly.

The spirit looked at him curiously for a moment before shrugging dismissively. "You seemed pretty distressed a second ago."

"I don't want to go to sleep," he hissed sharply. "Surely you know why."

He hesitated for a moment and then turned away to glance at the window briefly. "Yes." The spirit stayed silent for a long minute and then turned his head to regard him with a frown. "But you're ignoring it."

"I don't understand it so what is there to ignore, Atem?" he shot back angrily. "I have no fucking idea what I should do with those nightmares. Did the Puzzle used to give you nightmares?"

"…They're normally premonitions if they go on for a certain amount of time—and you've definitely passed it." The pharaoh cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes into slits for a moment. "What happens in them?"

"I can't actually see anything aside from bloodstained walls and a couple of mutilated bodies." Yami stayed quiet for a moment and then bared his teeth. "Don't say what you're about to."

The spirit sighed loudly and put his hands in his lap, kicking his feet briefly. "If you've noticed it then why aren't you—?"

"Fuck you. There's nothing I actually can do," he spat. "And besides that, it's their business whatever happens to them. I don't care anymore."


I promise to try to make an update every Wednesday, but I don't promise that I'll always make it happen. If there are any questions about the story, feel free to go ahead and ask. I'll answer any and all questions you might have, but I won't ruin the plot for the story, so keep that in mind. If it's going to be too big an element in it, I'm going to tell you what chapter you'll get the answer in and leave it at that (if I know what chapter it'll be in when you ask; otherwise you'll get a vague "It'll come up later").

Thanks for stopping by and reading, I appreciate it~