Hello people, so so sorry for the late update! I won't bore you about all the things getting in the way, so without further ado, here's the next chapter.

Enjoy.

Chapter 10

TRANSACTIONS & PROPOSITIONS

Yugi jerked back. "What?"

"Move in here with me," Atem repeated, with all the ease of someone who frequently asked perfect strangers to move in with him.

"You can't be serious." Yugi took another step backwards.

"Oh, I'm perfectly serious," Atem insisted, his face a neutral blank.

Yugi stared, still not understanding. "But . . .why?"

"Well, it's perfectly logical, little Yugi."

Despite the strangeness of the situation, Yugi couldn't help narrowing his eyes at the condescending words.

"One: you can't pay the rent singlehandedly for your current residence." Atem took another step towards him. "Two: you'd be hard put to find a flatmate this late into the uni year. As far as I can tell, you're left with very few options." Another step and he'd closed the distance between them once more.

"That's true," Yugi admitted.

Atem smirked in triumph.

Yugi hastened to get rid of it. "But that doesn't mean I'm moving in. That's just – it's absurd!"

"Is it?" Atem cocked an eyebrow. "I fail to see why."

"Because – well. We hardly know each other."

"And?" Atem looked unruffled by this statement. "Should your advertisements be successful, you would be moving in with a stranger in that situation, too, am I right?"

Yugi set his lips in a line.

"Then, how is this any different?"

Yugi considered the burgundy orbs, trying to come up with another excuse. He didn't know why he was so against the idea of taking up Atem on his offer – he just knew that he was. For some reason his mind seemed to shy away at the thought of sharing a living space with the man who had haunted it for the past month or more.

"I – "

"It's not different at all."

It's COMPLETELY different, thought Yugi. Out loud, he said, "Look, it's just not a good idea."

Some of the amusement that had been present seemed to lift from Atem's eyes. "No. You continuing on with your current situation is the bad idea. You've already lost this week's rent."

"I didn't lose it! It was stolen."

"Regardless." Atem shrugged, and Yugi gritted his teeth at the arrogant lift of the shoulders. "You have nothing with which to pay this week's rent." He sounded far too pleased, stating that fact.

"I – It doesn't matter. I'll explain to the landlord. I'll ask for more hours at work – "

"More hours when you're on the brink of midterms? That doesn't sound very sensible, little Yugi."

"A-and moving in with you is sensible?"

"Of course. Don't worry – the fee wouldn't be too much. You can pay whatever you did when you were sharing with your old flatmate."

"Oh, really?" asked Yugi, stalling. "I doubt that, this place looks way more expensive than mine. I don't think I'd be able to handle even if it was halved."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you can."

"How?"

"I own it, so I get to decide what you pay."

Yugi blinked. "Y-You own it?"

Atem sighed, exasperated. "Look, that isn't the point. The point is, I'm offering you a very logical and sensible solution to your problems and you are being insufferably illogical." Atem was speaking through gritted teeth, clearly nearing the end of his tether.

"I –" Yugi bit his lip. Atem was right. He was being illogical. And all for what? So that he could go back to worrying about finding a new flatmate? Spend most of every week trying to scramble together whatever cash he had to pay his rent? And foregoing grocery items in the process. He'd survived the last two weeks on noodles, and fruit that were on the brink of going bad. The thought of not having to repeat that experience was actually thrilling, Yugi realized wryly.

He sighed, and then looked up at Atem, who was regarding him silently now. The man looked as if he was aware of what Yugi was thinking. Yugi chewed on his lip, then pounced on a decision, opening his mouth before he could change his mind.

"Fine."

Atem blinked. "Fine?"

Yugi nodded stiffly. "I'll move in here." With you. He swallowed.

Atem stared at him, the seconds of silence ballooning out around them. Then he blinked, and stepped away. "Excellent," he said, smiling. But it was a different smile. There was none of that playfulness that had been there when he'd been pushing Yugi to accept his offer. This smile seemed cooler, more restrained. As if he'd conducted a business transaction and was pleased with the result. It was formal and at odds with his previous smirks.

Again with the contradictions.

"Well, that's settled," Atem stated in a smooth tone that made Yugi's fingers curl up into half-fists again. He moved, slinking into the shadows, before returning with a blue bundle that Yugi recognised as his hoodie. "Shall I take you home now?"

Yugi nodded and accepted his jacket, still a little uncertain of what he'd agreed to. No, that wasn't true. He was very aware of what he'd agreed to; he didn't think he would be able to forget this even in his sleep – it was the fact that he'd agreed to it at all that he was finding difficult to stomach.

He shrugged into the jacket, then bent over quickly, so he wouldn't have to connect eyes with Atem. Picking up the dilapidated pile of notebooks and folders off the floor, he shoved it into his gaping bag, and then stood up to sling it over his shoulder, his head bent.

A chuckle from Atem made his eyes seek out the other man's. This chuckle didn't have the warmth that had been there moments before when Atem had thrown back his head in laughter. It sounded brittle and sharp. "You don't have to look like that."

"Like what?" Yugi decided he much preferred the other kind of laughter, the spontaneous attack that had crinkled Atem's eyes and left Yugi with an inexplicable feeling of lightness.

"Like you've just signed your own death sentence," Atem remarked, a smirk creeping onto his lips.

"I don't look like that." Yugi blinked, then frowned. Was he so transparent? "Do I?"

Atem's stared down at him, lips twitching, and then laughter, real, deep-throated laughter broke out across his features, setting his shoulders shaking.

"This ought to be very interesting," he said a moment later, his voice rough around the edges with amusement. He strode over to the door, tossing his car keys into the air and then catching them, before pulling the door open and turning to flash a smile at Yugi.

It was charming, the smile. That was the only word for it, Yugi realized. It was wide, revealing strong teeth, and it oozed confidence. Was he susceptible to charm, Yugi wondered? He'd never thought himself to be, but confronted with Atem's grin it seemed he would have to reconsider. He kept his face stony.

That didn't seem to affect Atem, however, who simply winked, saying "After you, little Yugi."

Yugi gave one last sigh, and made his way towards the door, before pausing.

"Something the matter?" Atem looked inquisitively at Yugi, hints of a smile still touching his lips.

"Just. . ." Yugi stopped avoiding the other man's eyes, and looked him at him steadily. "Thank you."

Atem blinked, as if surprised. "Of course, Yugi." It was a softly spoken assurance that comforted Yugi far more than he would have thought.

He gave one nod, and then walked out the door past Atem, ignoring the shiver that ran through his limbs as he did so.

This was going to be interesting, all right. There was no doubt about it.

Yugi should have expected this really. Expected that his friends would question him doggedly, demand every detail: address, occupation, Atem's life story.

Not that he hadn't been expecting it. If he'd taken a moment to consider Yugi would have bet immediately that his friends would have been unrelenting in their thirst for information, and endearing in their concern for his well-being.

But that was just it. He hadn't had a moment to consider it. Since that day in Atem's apartment his mind had been in a constant haze. It was having trouble grasping the fact that it had accepted Atem's offer. It had seemed logical at the time – even now, Yugi could easily rattle off all the logical reasons that Atem had fed him. It was logical. It was reasonable.

Except for the fact that his mind seemed to be rebelling against the idea of living with Atem. Yugi couldn't deny it. The thought of being in such close quarters with the man who so frequently occupied his thoughts made him a little queasy. More than a little.

He tried to quell the churning in his stomach now by taking another sip of from his ginger beer. They were all at Téa's house – Joey and Yugi sprawled on bean bags while Téa assumed a more dignified position by the futon table. Tristan's long form was stretched out on the couch, light snores escaping his half-open mouth.

"I still can't believe this, Yugi," said Téa, munching on a grape.

"I know." Yugi nodded, staring into nothing. There was nothing else to say.

"Are you actually serious?" Joey's tone still held incredulity. Out of the three, he seemed to be having the most difficulty swallowing Yugi's news.

"No, I'm Regulus," he remarked blandly.

"What are you talkin' about?"

Yugi blinked, then looked at his friend with half a smile. "You know, Sirius and Regulus Black. They're brothers. Harry Potter."

Joey stared.

"You know, cos you asked if I was serious . . ." Yugi explained, before trailing off at the look on Joey's face. "Never mind."

Joey shook his head. "I think all those hours at work are going to your head."

Yugi shrugged and took another sip. It was rather calming, he decided.

"I guess this will be good in that sense, huh?" Téa looked at him, thoughtfully. "You won't have to work as much because the rent is much lower."

Yugi nodded, not saying anything. He'd been doing a lot of that. Apart from the few details that they'd gleaned out of him, Yugi hadn't told his friends anything else. Nothing about the way his insides seem to react to the other man, or the way the man had taken over his mind from their very first meeting. Irrelevant details, really.

"Yea, ya'd think that it'd be way higher, considering where he's located n' everything."

"Yes, well, he said we should divide it based on how much each of us make. Said it was only fair." Yugi was impressed by how neutral his tone sounded.

Téa smiled. "He does seem nice, Yugi."

"Yeah, well, I still don't trust 'im! You ain't movin' in until I see this guy, Yug!" Joey's face took on an intimidating glint, though the effect was somewhat marred by his limbs being splayed haphazardly over the bean bag.

Yugi couldn't help but smile.

"Ah shut it, you idiot, some of us are tryin' to sleep here," Tristan murmured, shifting on the couch so that he was now lying on his side.

"Who's the idiot!" Joey tossed an irritated glance behind him. "You fine with Yugi moving in with someone you've never even seen?"

"We have seen him, remember?" Tristan's tone still held the softness of sleep. "At the Rabbit & Ferret that night."

"Yeah, well, that was only seeing him. I need to talk to him."

"Yeah, I'm real sure he'd enjoy that," said the sarcastic form on the couch.

"And besides," Joey continued, ignoring the comment, "I didn't like the look of him then, either. The way he stared. Far too forward, I reckon."

Téa snorted. "Forward? What are you, eighty? Even Grandpa doesn't talk like that."

"Seriously, Yug, I think he's got ulterior motives."

"Ooh, someone's gotten to know a dictionary," Tristan murmured.

"Hey! I know words!" Joey gritted his teeth in Tristan's direction, but the other boy seemed far too sleepy to care. Joey turned back to Yugi, expression sombre. "Yug, I'm serious."

"Ah, so you're Sirius and Yugi's Regulus," Tristan drawled, lazily pulling himself into a sitting position. "Glad you two got that sorted." He gave a drowsy smile.

"Tristan, really, I think you should stop," Téa told him. "Joey looks like he's gonna bust a nerve."

Yugi looked at his friend's bent head, the shaggy blonde hair falling over what he knew was squinted eyes and the ridiculous alligator-like leer that usually crept across Joey's face whenever he attempted to bottle anger. Joey's hands, unsurprisingly, were fisted.

Yugi couldn't help but chuckle. "Joey, relax, would you?"

"I am relaxed! It's just idiot Tristan, if he isn't careful, he's gonna get what's comin' to 'im!"

Tristan looked unimpressed.

"And, anyway," Joey rounded on Yugi once more, "it's not him I'm concerned about. It's you and this Atem person. I'm telling you, I don't like the look of him – the way he looked at you that night, it was strange."

"It wasn't strange. You're imagining things," Yugi replied calmly, before taking another sip of his tea. At this rate, he figured he could probably land a job as an actor.

"Nu-uh, I know that look. And it's not one you can trust."

"Yes, Joey, but his actions speak for themselves don't they?" Téa reasoned. "I mean, he helped out Yugi from those bullies, didn't he? And now he's offering him a place to stay. He's even asking for rent, so it's not like he's letting Yugi live there for free. That's what would be really suspicious." She popped another grape into her mouth.

Joey frowned at them both. "I don't care. I just know his type. C'mon, you saw him! He's a total sleaze!"

"Joey!" The protest popped out of Yugi's mouth without him thinking about it. "Would you stop?"

"Well, I dunno, Joey's got a point."

Three heads swivelled to face Tristan, who eyed them blearily from the couch.

"What? How has he got a point?" Téa demanded.

"I'm just sayin'," Tristan shrugged, "I know that look, too."

"Probably cos you use it yourself," Téa muttered under her breath.

Yugi tried desperately to think of something else. Otherwise, he knew, he'd be as red as a beetroot before too long. "Guys, there was no look, all right? He's . . . he's got a boyfriend."

"He does?" Téa looked at him curiously. "You never mentioned that."

"Well, he was at the bar that night with another man, remember?"

"So?" Joey shrugged a careless shoulder. "That could have been anyone. How do you know it was a date?"

"Because – I saw them later. Kissing." He took a hasty gulp of his ginger beer, then looked up raising his eyebrows. "So, you see, you've got nothing to worry about, really. He's not interested in. . . anything like that."

Joey's eyes narrowed. "There's something you're not telling us."

"What?" Yugi widened his eyes. It was an automatic defence mechanism, but they didn't have to know that. "Why would you even think that?"

"I dunno, Yug, I just got this feeling."

"Look, relax, you'll get to meet him when I move in anyway."

"Yeah, but by then you'll already be moving in. There's not much damage control I can do."

"Damage control." Tristan snorted. "Damage being the operative word. And you being the cause, obviously."

"Really Joey," Téa broke in quickly, stemming off a full-scale wrestling match. "I don't think we need to worry. Even Grandpa didn't take that long to agree to it."

"Yeah, what the hell was up with that, anyway?" Joey asked Yugi.

"Well, he didn't give in right away," said Yugi, twisting the bottle in his hands, and letting his fingers soak up the condensation on the side.

"Yeah, but much sooner than I expected," Téa pointed out.

"True. He reckons I'm a good judge of character, and trusts me to not be an idiot," Yugi recalled happily, wiping his fingers on his pants.

"Not this kind of character," Joey muttered in a dark tone.

Téa rolled his eyes. "And what makes you such a good judge all of a sudden, anyway?"

"You wouldn't know, all right? It's a guy's intuition," Joey closed his eyes, looking superior, before opening them again. "Besides, I'm just lookin' out for Yug!"

"Are you saying we're not-?" began Téa.

Yugi quickly interrupted. "Look, Joey, if it bothers you that much, you can come meet him before I move in, all right? I'm supposed to meet him in two days to get the keys and sign the contract."

"Contract?"

"Yeah, I'll be signing a contract just like any tenant, so it's all above board, see?" Yugi gave his friend a reassuring grin.

Joey was silent for a moment, as he regarded Yugi. Finally he nodded. "All right, I'll come with you then."

"Okay, good." Yugi grinned, before taking another sip of his drink.

"And you know what?" Joey yelled, shooting up from the bean bag into a wide-legged stance. "This Atem guy better be ready cos he ain't gonna know what hit 'im!"

"I'm sure he can feel the doom of idiocy that's headed towards him right this very minute." Tristan muttered out of the side of his mouth.

It seemed to be the last straw. Joey threw himself onto the couch. There was a second when Yugi could see the alarmed look on Tristan's face before the two became a ball of grappling limbs and angry mutterings.

"Guys," Yugi placed his drink down and made to get up, "you should-"

"Just leave them, Yugi." Téa gave an exasperated smile. "You're just wasting your breath. You know they'll just tire themselves out eventually."

"That's true." Yugi sighed, then flinched and grabbed his drink as Joey's sneakered foot came swinging through the air.

"You know, Téa," he looked at his one sane friend, "if you want to come over as well to meet Atem, that's fine."

Téa smiled crookedly. "I think your new landlord will have enough on his hands with Joey as it is."

Yugi gave a half-amused, half-anxious huff, his mind flitting through all the possible disasters that could unfold at the meeting.

"Besides," Téa continued, breaking through his thoughts, "I'm sure I'll meet him in time. And I trust your judgement. You're far more intelligent than people give you credit for."

"Oh, gee, thanks," Yugi dead-panned, "double-edged compliments are my favourite."

Téa chuckled. "You know what I mean. You're stronger than you seem."

"Better and better," Yugi muttered.

Téa lobbed a cushion over the table, which Yugi, laughing, barely managed to avoid.

"First insults, and now you're attacking me?" Yugi pouted at his friend.

Téa shot him an affectionate smile, a gravity in her eyes that belied their joking a second earlier. "You'll be just fine, Yugi. Just fine."

Yugi blinked, Téa's unexpected seriousness grounding him as well. "Really?" He didn't know why he wanted the reassurance – just that he did. He knew he was anxious. But whether he was anxious about the fact that he was going to be moving in with someone he didn't know that well, or the fact that he knew he was going to be moving in with Atem, he couldn't tell. He tried to keep the desperation out of his voice as he looked at Téa. "You think so?"

She shook her head, before giving him a small smile. "No. I know so."

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