Okay there is another update, I'll just skim over a few Questions you guys have been asking:

Is this a Full story? Yes it is, and there will be about my normal set of chapters, but this will be more Drama and Relationship based.

Mai's Twins? I haven't decided on names or even genders, but if anyone can offer me some interesting names that Mai and Valon could name their kids, I will consider.

And just as a side note: No one really took Atem's side in the last chapter, everyone thought Atem was being out of line, ironically I was worried that Yugi was being the over argumentative one. But I guess everyone loves him too much to not take his side.

Finally I'd like to thank very deeply s2Teennovelist and Kaoru-Yuki for their excellent reviews and feedback and I'd love to have more like that so, I'm giving them their own personal replies right here. Thanks to everyone who gave me a review and I hope you enjoy, so please read on and thanks again.


s2Teennovelist
I'm glad you think my writing has improved, however I am writing this story in the style of another author, so I doubt this 'new' look will transfer to many other stories but if you really think this is a step forwards I'll try to adopt it permanently. Thank you. I am enjoying writing in another style, it's challenging and makes me think more about what I should put. BTW you are the only one who realised that Yugi was being out of line as well as Atem, that's kinda funny since I was worrying that I'd made Yugi far to rude. Thank you again for your review, I nearly cried at the sight of it, you've made my day and spurred me onwards to publish the next chapter sooner.

Kaoru-Yuki
Thanks for noticing the style change, I'm trying to write it in the style of another author, and it's really fun and challenging to do. And give Atem a chance as well, Yugi was also a bit out of line (it's funny because I was worried that Yugi was being too mean, but everyone seems to be taking his side instead of Atem's). And Atem's character will be revealed in later chapters, as well as his background and reasons why he acts as he does.


The bliss of sleep was so blissful, like a warm cloud of safety and calm radiating from the inside out. Yugi's body was sunk into the bed, on top of the quilt with only his boxer shorts on to keep his modesty. The sleeper seemed so heavy, and so deeply asleep, he unconsciously pressed his face into his pillow, resting on his front. His body was so tired, worn down from yesterday, from the night before, the slumber would recharge him and ease his troubles into oblivion until he woke …

But slowly the sun rose and the noises of outside filtered inside, and still Yugi slept on, not even disturbed by the stray ray of sunlight hitting his eyelid, he was so tightly held by sleep's embrace. However, one loud and persistent noise eventually filtered through Yugi's brain and slowly pulled him from his dreamless sleep.

Yugi opened one eye as awareness invaded his blissful slumber. The young man groaned and put his head under the pillow in an attempt to drown out the sound. The sound persisted and seemed in no way dulled through the feather pillow, and barely muted with hands pressed over the ears as a bonus.

Yugi looked at the clock on his bedside table and groaned, putting his face back into the mattress. What kind of person starts hammering at seven in the morning?! Yugi thought venomously, he thought his city neighbours would be more considerate than that, the walls weren't thick enough to keep out sounds that loud-

Practically the second he thought that he sat bolt upright and glanced around.

This wasn't his city apartment! He was at Mai's villa at the coast. A completely isolated place with villas far enough apart so neighbours had privacy, even stereo speakers had a hard time disturbing the house next door …

Yugi glared suddenly. Who's hammering Mai's house? He thought, getting out of bed and pulling on a pair of blue silk sleeping sorts – the one's Mai had gotten him as a joke, saying they were the male equivalent of sexy girls' lingerie – and a random oversized shirt, and marched into the hallway to try and locate where the noise was coming from.

After a split second to listen he decided the noise was coming from the back.

Yugi unlocked the door and looked outside, taking a moment to cover his eyes from the bright glare of day, and saw almost instantly the ladder propped up next to the villa. After a blink he also made out the figure sitting on the top rungs.

Yugi's eyes widened at once "You!" he almost yelped in shock.

Atem sat on the upper rungs of the ladder, at the roof level, some nails in his mouth and a hammer in his hand. He was dressed in faded denim jeans and a short sleeved top of white cotton, he was just about to hit another hammer home when Yugi shouted at him.

To Yugi's annoyance this man didn't even had the decency to jump at his yell, Atem's wine coloured eyes only calmly slid to Yugi's outraged face. He smirked slightly before turning back to his task, as if it was perfectly normal to be knocking nails into someone's home. "Good Morning," he greeted as he put a new nail into the roof.

Yugi glared, now over his shock and twice as angry since his sleep had been disrupted by this guy! Yugi tried to resist the urge to throw something at him again and bit his tongue while breathing deeply "Do you have any idea what time it is?" he demanded when he felt calm enough to speak not scream.

Atem paused his work to look down at the younger man "Five past seven," he correctly stated. He moved down the ladder and shifted it along the roof a bit before preparing to climb back up.

Yugi crossed his arms while heatedly wishing this man would fall off the face of the earth. Is he thick or just irritating? He wondered. "Are you one of those annoying people who can survive on three or four hours sleep?" he asked, sounding like a snarling fox half the time. He hated the types who wanted the world to adapt to them, he quickly pinned Atem as one of them, of course a well slept and better mood Yugi would consider that an unjustified labelling since it could have been a misunderstanding.

Atem chuckled a little and shrugged as he pulled a few trapped leaves out from under a tile "Five to seven hours mostly," he agreed evenly, he then turned back to Yugi with a curious expression "Did I wake you? Mai gave me the impression you were an early bird," he trailed off slightly as he took in Yugi's appearance properly for the first time this morning.

The tan man felt a surge of satisfaction and appreciation as he admired Yugi's long legs, shown off by a pair of light blue silk shorts that only reached his upper thigh. Yugi's overlarge white T-shirt also revealed part of a shoulder and the subtle shape of his collarbone, his eyes admired the unmarked neck until he met Yugi's eyes. Yugi's eyes were fiery and stormy, they were just wishing hell and lightning down upon him.

Atem's lips curved in amusement again when he thought of that comparison, and into a more alluring smile when his eyes flicked to admire Yugi's plump lips again. Delicious. Was this man trying to be eye-candy this morning?

Because it was working.

Yugi saw his eyes travel all over him and resisted the urge to cover his legs a little. Instead he snapped "I don't normally get in at two in the morning!"

Atem blinked as a surprised expression crossed his face "I forgot about that," he admitted with a small groan and then turned back to his work. "And I forgot to tell you last night that Mai asked me to fix a few things around the house, she wanted everything to be perfect for her kids. I need to put in a new gutter today, I took the worn one out yesterday morning" he fished out a little more gutter leaves and aimed another hammer blow.

Yugi sighed as he remembered Mai "But did you really have to start at the crack of dawn?" he partly whined, knowing he'd never get back to sleep now, no matter how he tried. So it was a misunderstanding … could of at least rang to doorbell to tell me instead of knocking the roof!

Atem chuckled "Dawn was at ten past six this morning, it's a shame you missed it," he said sounding nostalgic.

The smart-aleck comment sparked Yugi's anger again "I don't care when dawn was, why are you so determined to disturb me this morning, was afternoon that far away?" he complained, moving to the base of the ladder to make sure Atem was listening.

The tanned man set Yugi a charming smile "It's the only free time in my day, the morning. At ten I'm due in town on business and I'll only have time for lunch, then I go to boot up the computer at home when I get back," he explained reasonably. But Yugi didn't see it that way.

"Couldn't have done it tomorrow?"

"It could rain," Atem sent back calmly.

That's highly unlikely. Yugi growled in his own head. The weather here was perfect here for days on end and any rain was normally light and not bothersome in the summer months, excluding all the storms that happened along the sea-coast. That left only one conclusion to Yugi; he was doing it on purpose just to annoy him.

Yugi sighed angrily, a hand over his face as he counted to ten once again. "Why you of all people did Mai have to hire?" he whined.

Atem laughed at his tone and swung himself down the ladder again "I'm Mai's neighbour," he explained. That answer alone made Yugi's day overcast and gloomy in the summer sunshine. Atem pointed across the way to an identical villa just through some trees and across a lawn, "We got talking and Mai told me how bad her husband was at DIY, so I offered my input and I've been asked over for odd jobs ever since," he told his unwilling host.

Yugi closed his eyes in horror. Great. Just great. Why does the universe hate me? "And you help out of the kindness of your heart?" he muttered.

Atem nodded, seemingly shocked that Yugi would say that "I don't get paid for this," he explained neutrally, a little insulted that Yugi had come to such a thorny conclusion. "The coast gets lonely sometimes, Mai and Valon were always good company, and I was glad to help them."

Yugi smiled slightly "Yeah they are …" he missed them. He wanted to be in the living room with Mai's armature cooking on the table - bless her she tried - listening to Valon's crazy stories of his youth in Australia and not having to worry about the world and its people. Yugi was pulled from his dream world by a shrill noise from inside the house.

He stepped towards the door and Atem murmured "That'll be Valon and Mai."

It didn't help Yugi's mood that he was right.

Valon greeted him cheerily enough, which instantly eased Yugi's concerns about Mai, but only by a fraction. "How is she?" he asked, holding the wireless phone in a tight and anxious grip.

Valon's pause was brief "Stable. The twins are fine too, but they ain't born yet. The doctors managed to calm them down and Mai'll be strong enough to birth them in a few weeks. But blimey they gave us a scare, I don't wanna know what kind of pranksters we'll have once they get here," he joked, his voice thick with his Australian accent but that did nothing to his pronunciation, if anything his accent only made his cheery speech gain a funny bounce or two, you could tell he was glad just by listening to him.

Yugi sighed in relief "Thank the lord," he wheezed out, feeling like a balloon with deflating after holding too much pressure.

Valon laughed at his response "Ain't that a familiar phrase. Okay, doctor says no mobiles allowed in the hospital-"

Yugi nodded "I know, I figured I wouldn't be able to speak to her," he sighed sadly, missing her voice.

"But … my wife threatened the last of my manliness unless I got this phone to her. Out of Doctors and my wife … I fear Mai more," Yugi laughed as Valon made a fuss over Mai's threats.

That sounds like Mai. If she's got enough energy to scare Valon then she has to be okay. Valon told Yugi to stay on the line, then he stuffed the mobile into his pocket and snuck into Mai's room. The two family members had a babble-fest of a reunion, each talking over the other until they had nothing else to scold the other about.

"Yugi honey, I'm so sorry I can't be there, but I feel so much better knowing Atem's there to keep an eye on you. He's such a great neighbour, helps out for free and doesn't half complain about my cooking unlike someone …" Valon coughed loudly in the background, making Mai laugh, she sounded cheerful too. Probably knowing her children were safe and well had eased her enough to go back to being the overly affectionate and fierce woman everyone knew and liked.

However Yugi was frowning at the door where Atem was working. Mai felt better knowing Atem was around? A feeling Yugi strongly disagreed with "Yeah … he's, er … " he trailed off because there wasn't an accurate enough word to describe the guy. Maddening? Irritating? Annoying? Stuck up? Intrusive?

Yugi's face went vivid red in anger and embarrassment as he remembered how Atem had stolen a kiss. Angry because he had no right to do that to someone he just met, and embarrassed because he had let him and hadn't fought him off. He'd just frozen in place until it was over.

His recent break up with John was making the event seem that much more insulting, like the added salt to a raw wound. After standing someone up after being stuck in a stalemate of arguments for way too long, how could he just allow someone like Atem to do that to him? Yugi felt angry tears sting his eyes, drowning the little part of him who enjoyed the loving treatment after so much neglect.

Mai's voice turned worried "Is something wrong Yugi?" she knew his voice well enough to know there was something on his mind. Or from his recent history, a lot of things on his mind; Ex, job, work, friends, babies, neighbour, house, and many more the poor woman couldn't hope to guess.

Yugi felt a small desire to spill his feelings and impressions of 'Mai's lovely neighbour' but she had enough to worry about, her unborn twins were safe and stable, but the bad news was that she'd have to stay at the hospital until they were born. The estimated birth was defiantly premature now, and could be anywhere from tomorrow to two or three weeks. She had enough to stress over, Yugi decided, and so chose to give her another believable excuse: "I miss you Mai. I wish you were here."

"Oh hun, I wish I was there too, this hospital food is worse than mine!" she whined, sounding like a child moaning about not wanting to eat her broccoli.

Yugi giggled a little, unable to help himself, Mai could be such a strong-willed woman or a whining girl, and she was very lucky that Valon was at just the right mental maturity to deal with both. They were a match made in heaven to many onlookers and family. "It must be bad if you're complaining."

Mai's laugh was slightly worried "Valon smuggles in some good stuff when they're not looking, it's no big deal, and I had him bring this phone because I had to talk to you and they've all but strapped me to the bed! Stupid Quacks! Unless I go to the toilet I'm stuck here all day every day," she sighed miserably "Being pregnant is not fun."

Yugi smiled sympathetically "Sorry Mai, but you know who to blame," he teased.

Valon's voice came in the background "Cricky! You're not pinning this on me! You're the harpy who grabbed me by the arm and married me."

"Well who else got me preggers?"

Yugi cringed a little "Mai!" he whined, all this lovey-dovey-married-couple talk was making him gag slightly.

Mai just laughed, and Valon was laughing too, Yugi pouted when he realised he was being mocked. "Sorry hun. Anyway, I just remembered something. Atem's going to be fixing a few things here and there over the weeks, I bet he's already told you that."

Yep, hammer and all. Yugi thought sarcastically, but Mai was already continuing.

"He doesn't get paid money for that, I don't know why, it's not like I'm not rich enough to afford it. But he insisted on not getting paid, and I insisted on doing something in return. So I make him his dinners and we sometimes eat together, he's always so busy with work he forgets to eat sometimes … I hate to ask Yugi, but would you mind …?"

Yugi's brain froze. Make dinners for Atem? Every evening? Yugi's forehead met the wall as he head-hit it with a mute groan of frustration. He had had enough of that man to last him a lifetime, and the afterlife! The very thought of having to cook for him and have dinner made him want to scream and throw something again.

But he couldn't say 'no', and he definitely couldn't throw the tantrum he very wished he could; he was a guest at his cousin's house and he had to earn his keep somehow. He sighed, acting like every gesture was a stab in hell "Yes Mai, okay," he droned.

Mai's delighted laugh was almost worth it "Thank you so much Yugi, I know he's in for a treat now, you've always been so much better at cooking than I have, way more adventurous, and things always turn out right for you. Gods the fates favoured your side of the family in cooking masterpieces," she dramatically ranted, her pout nearly visible through the phone line it was that defined.

Yugi's eyes suddenly lit up. With a slight glance towards Atem's general location he felt a mischievous smirk spread across his face. He was a good cook, and his dishes could either be standard or exotic, and he had a few brilliant ideas of what to serve his 'lovely' neighbour. Roasts, soups and 'safe' options were officially off the menu.

But something both delicious and later stomach turning would be the main course. Yugi felt a competitive wave surface inside him, perhaps this could be fun, who said revenge couldn't be sweet? He thought of all the unusual stuffing's he could serve, all the overly prepared fish, all the rich sauces that would make a child wary of sugar …

Yugi put a bright smile on his face and said "Don't worry, he's going to get my special treatment," Yugi almost laughed down the phone line as the more interesting ideas surfaced in his brain. Atem would get a stomach ache or two from his fine cooking, revenge for the kiss and the early morning wakeup call was going to be so worth it! Mai completely missed the slightly evil undertone and brightly thanked and apologised for the inconvenience. Yugi raised a hand and waved dismissively though Mai couldn't see it "Mai, relax, it will be my pleasure," he smirked.

"Well I'd better put this smuggled phone away, I'll have Valon call the second there's any news, but otherwise we're all fine and- oooh!"

Yugi gripped the phone tightly "Mai?!" he panicked, hearing her groan of pain, feeling his heart leap into his throat and beat like a frantic trapped bird.

"Oooh … just kidding!"

Yugi slumped and sighed deeply in relief before getting mad at her "Not. Funny." He scolded, how is she ten years older than me if she's immature enough to do that? Yugi wondered before saying goodbye and hanging up. Only leaving the conversation with Valon's promise to call and check up on him in a day or two.

Yugi replaced the phone into the receiver and felt the relaxing and comforting aura his cousin's voice had left settle over him. Even the daunting thought of cooking for his intensely unnerving neighbour wasn't as bad now. Yugi approached the back door and realised suddenly that the hammering had stopped. Was he finished? Or was he giving Yugi a kind gesture of silence while he caught up with Mai?

Yugi opened the back door silently and felt a blush rise to his face when he spotted Atem. He was not on his ladder, instead he was a few meters away, bent over picking up some more wood to fix up the roof before his town deadline. Yugi found his eyes raking Atem's body before he could catch himself, nice butt. He thought suddenly, some guys just wore denim right, and with this man it hugged his thighs and rear in every appealing way, especially in that position.

Yugi managed to shake off his blush before Atem realised he was there. The man stood up and held up the last piece of wood "I've only got one more section to do and I'll be out of your hair," he promised.

Yugi sighed slightly at the thought of listening to more hammering, then decided to change the subject "Mai's okay."

Atem's eyes lit up with joy and relief, a calm smile spreading over his face as the news sank in "And the twins?" he pressed.

Yugi squashed the mean voice that wanted to say 'none of your business' and nodded absently "Stable, but unborn still. Mai's going to be staying at the hospital until they're ready," he summarised, not sure if he should mention how Mai hated the hospital food as an example of small talk. He didn't really feel like starting a long conversation, however Atem was Mai's friend too, Yugi stayed silent as he debated.

Atem nodded and moved the ladder along again "Glad to hear that," he paused for a moment, his face contemplating as he made a decision. Then he grinned, with all the cocky confidence of a move that wouldn't end well, "By the way, you might want to cover up those deadly legs of yours," his eyes slid to Yugi's as Yugi finished glancing down at his state of dress. Atem winked one red eye and smirked "Someone might just decide to jump you," his voice low and alluring again.

Yugi's cheeks went red almost as a reflex, then he crossed his arms, nearly growling in Atem's direction, he couldn't believe he had the nerve to flirt after their circumstances! Yugi's hand itched for something to hold, preferably something that would do damage when it hit this guy. "Go jump in the ocean!" he snapped, making Atem laugh.

As Yugi fumed Atem lifted his hammer again and went back to work.

The loud bangs only increased Yugi's irritation further, finally he bit his tongue and covered his ears to stop him committing murder. When he felt calm, or in control, enough to speak normally he asked, not making eye contact "Is six convenient for your meal?" silently dragging his feet as he thought of the forced offer he had to do.

Atem paused as the thought about it "Six is perfect," he smiled. After a moment he leaned down the ladder a little so he was closer to Yugi's level, his eyes inviting yet both knew they would have no effect on Yugi's current mood. "Mai and Valon often ate with me at my place," he informed pleasantly, the invitation subtly placed.

Yugi raised an eyebrow "A tradition I'm not going to follow," he replied shortly.

Atem's face drained of all emotion as he straightened up next to the gutter again "Do you have an aversion to friendliness?" he asked flatly, almost mocking since the question seemed to be a statement of his observations too.

Yugi glared at once "No. I have an aversion to you."

Atem was silent for a few moments, he positioned a nail carefully and then murmured "You don't know me." Was it just Yugi or was the tone of voice he used a little remorseful? Yugi normally didn't like upsetting anyone, and he felt the stirrings of guilt circle inside him, but the angry and insulted part of him had the louder voice.

"Trust me, I don't want to," he said scathingly. And turned to get ready so he could shop for tonight, and escape the increasingly tempting idea of pushing the ladder over with Atem on the top of it.


Atem watched as Yugi vanished back inside and shook his head with an amused smile. He'd met many people and all types of people on his travels, business, commercial and family, but Yugi's character intrigued him. There was such a lovely person behind all the barriers, and the defensiveness that tried to push him away. He's glimpsed that inner person last night when he heard about Mai's condition, and he'd caught a hint of the true him just now when he had complimented his looks.

Caring and modest, just two pieces to the Yugi puzzle he was trying to solve.

Of course he already had other sections of Yugi's character from hearing stories and news from his neighbours, Yugi's family.

Yugi was twenty six, lived in Domino and worked as a journalist and editor, yet he also dabbled in cooking and photography. An interesting fact was that this young man was an open bisexual and had dated both men and women in the past, Atem could see the appeal both sexes would be attracted to in him, also being bi and a free lover himself. Women would adore his caring nature and his cuteness, his confidence and his un-bulky muscles. Men would be attracted to his expressive eyes, slender body, clearly submissive nature when paired with another male, and of course those legs – Atem laughed at his own trail of thought and then went back to his analysis of Yugi.

He loved games, he was a competitive player who was never intimidated by strategy or strength, he was fiercely loyal to those he held dear; Atem remembered Mai's one tale of Yugi's reckless loyalty and protectiveness at work, some paparazzi stalker had gotten some dirty and private secrets from Seto Kaiba and his boyfriend Joseph/Joey Wheeler, and it was some very private and personal information they'd managed to get. Yugi, coincidently, had accidentally stumbled across this information when the paparazzi was at the chief's office trying to get permission to publish the gossip, Yugi saw the photos and read the notes and was horrified that someone was trying to publish such personal stuff. So he'd stolen the hard drives and camera memory sticks and ran out of work early to tell Seto what these stalkers had found. Yugi had gotten into trouble because there was a security camera watching him the whole time, and he nearly was fired for it, but Seto had intervened as a gesture of gratitude and paid off the boss to forget this whole ordeal. Mai did say, unfortunately, that Yugi's justice-conscious gesture had stopped him getting the promotion that eventually went to his boyfriend.

These facts and stories told Atem a few more things about Yugi. He was selfless, had a strong sense of justice, was brave and confident, had a few powerful friends, he was creative, clever, kind and strong willed. Add in the observations Atem noted earlier, modest and caring, and he had a rough idea of who Yugi was inside, what he could be to everyone.

Atem heard a car engine start and peered around the corner of the villa to see a red car slowly pulling out of the drive next to Mai's garage, Yugi was at the wheel, fully dressed and ready to take on the town. Atem watched his vehicle disappear behind the trees and then went back to his work and thoughts.

He had those characteristics of Yugi made up from what he had seen and heard, yet couldn't figure out why he was being so determinedly distant and defensive. His tiredness could be a reason, and of course Atem's own forgetful idea to start this job early when Yugi had barely had enough hours sleep, however he seemed to be going out of his way to lash out and withdraw like a wounded animal. He remembered how reluctant he was to tell him about Mai's condition. Then, just as he finished, an idea formed itself in his mind; he had been mistreated recently, and how was not willing to let another into his life; the scars or insults had left their brands.

The idea made Atem's face twist into a dark frown, who could mistreat such a person? Atem was not normally the type to pry into people's lives, but Yugi intrigued him, and he wasn't going to lie and say Yugi's appearance wasn't attracting him as well. Long legs, soft skin, subtle muscles, expressive eyes, kissable lips …

Atem relived the kiss last night as he packed up his things and wandered across to his villa. Yes, he would have to get to know Yugi better. Both body, and mind.


Okay, Atem the sexy predator has made his decision and is now determined to have Yugi in his bed, hopefully Lust will also invite Love to join in as our man begins his quest. hee hee ...

If only Yugi was a little calmer ... and Atem a bit more considerate. I have plans for those boys, oooh yes.

I hope you all like, and please remember that the reviews of s2Teennovelist and Kaoru-Yuki made this chapter come earlier than planned, so be more like them! The Next chapter will be here soon.