In the aftermath of the shadow game Yugi couldn't remember much. His body had ached all over, head pounding. Between the multitude of possessions the day before and the shadow game that followed, it had left him feeling as limp and worn as a wet towel wrung out until its fibers were near breaking.

He'd practically collapsed into Yami's embrace.

Indulged in the security those arms brought him.

He knew now that no matter what happened, Yami would never allow anyone to harm him. And for a man who spent the better part of his life at the mercy of bigger, stronger, and meaner people, the security Yami brought him was second to none.

It was the year I solved the puzzle that first saw a steep decline in the amount of bullies who would mess with me.

Yami held him so tightly it had felt like the shadows swallowed him. And perhaps they had. As the adrenaline faded, his mind did too, and the darkness had eventually closed in on him.

The next thing Yugi recalled was waking up in his bed, the morning sun casting a soft illumination from behind his curtains.

Somehow he'd wound up in bed.

And clearly he'd overslept.


"Shit! I have work!" Yugi bolted out of bed as though it were on fire and dragged something black right along with him. "I'm late!"

The spirit which had blanketed his host through the night, securely twining arms, a leg, and other things protectively around him, now found himself violently dragged out of bed and onto the floor.

"Oh!" Yugi caught a void arm as the shadows fell away from him. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

Tired gold eyes blinked up at him from the mass pooled on the floor.

Hands were thrust into the spirit's face, a blatant offer to help him off the floor.

Golden eye's scrunched in delight as black tentacles wound around Yugi's wrists and up his arms. The shadow oozed up and into Yugi's outstretched embrace. Those arms bent to accommodate Yami, cradling him as he reformed into a human shape.

"I suppose that's one way to get someone to carry you," Yugi chuckled with a slight throaty quality.

Yami wanted to lean in and kiss him, like they'd done the night before in the soul room. But he was a shadow now, an inhuman monstrosity. Not the kind of thing people kissed in those romance movies Yugi made him watch yesterday.

He chose instead to rest his head against Yugi's shoulder and let his mind go hazy as he was carried out of the bedroom towards the bathroom. He couldn't sleep, and he probably should have retreated into the puzzle to rest, rather than embrace his host all morning. He was exhausted now. There was no weight to his form, barely tangible enough for Yugi to hold him. He shut his eyes and simply indulged in the comfort of being cradled in someone's arms.

After the shadow game the night before, he was warmed that Yugi still wanted him.

He'd spent so long existing in the fear that he wouldn't be accepted should he reveal himself and his nature.

It felt nice to finally relax and just… exist.

"Are you alright?" Yugi asked when they stepped into the bathroom. His host looked about the space curiously.

-Tired…-

Yami tried his best to answer via their link, but he wasn't certain Yugi actually perceived the answer.

"Woah," Yugi swayed on his feet and had to steady himself against the door frame. "I felt that," he added with a weak chuckle. "Did you get any sleep?"

Yami shrugged rather than provide a verbal answer. He'd technically rested for a few hours when he'd curled around Yugi in the early morning. It would have been more restful had he retreated to the puzzle. But… he'd needed to protect.

-Fine-

Yugi made a bit of an about face, so he must have gotten the gist of Yami's response. He pushed his curling iron and hair dryer aside, and placed Yami in a sitting position on the countertop. The shadow's posture sagged a bit, the darkness faded and translucent.

"Will you be alright for a moment while I…?" Yugi's question trailed off and he glanced at the toilet. His skin flushed a deep crimson and he scrunched his eyes shut. "It's not embarrassing," he muttered to himself, "he lives in me, he's probably seen me do this a million times."

Yami didn't wait for Yugi to open his eyes again, he faded out, pooling into Yugi's shadow where he drifted away from the living plane. He would grant his host privacy and take this hour to rest properly.


A bathroom break, quick shower, and tooth brushing later found Yugi stepping out of the bathroom with a towel secured around his waist, another he was using to towel his damp hair. He padded down the hall and into the living room, stopping dead at the sight before him.

His living room looked… great.

Everything was in its place, all his games and movies set to right, the cabinets fixed, even the carpet vacuumed. Everything that had been tossed the night before had been cleaned up.

It had been the same in the rest of his apartment.

"Did you clean everything last night?"

"YES." Intoned a synthetic voice from behind him.

Yugi whirled around and was practically nose to chin with the spirit, who held the Speak & Spell to his chest.

Yami was opaque again, a deep dark all-consuming black. His posture looming and proud, and the silhouette of his hair curling like licks of flame. The drooping faded appearance from earlier was like a distant memory. Only his golden eyes betrayed him. They weren't the brilliant gold they usually were.

Yami looked upon him with dim eyes that shone like a withering flashlight.

A shudder worked its way through Yugi, memories of the night before in the soul room flashing into his memory. They were so close now, and he could not help but be acutely aware of their very proximity.

Should I touch him? Can I touch him? We've touched before and he's never minded.

"The-the place looks amazing," Yugi said, eyes darting to the side but always shifting back to the spirit before him before darting away again to look someplace else. "It's like I never got robbed at all."

Honestly, he didn't want to talk about the state of the apartment or the burglary. Really he was more interested in what they had been doing before any of that happened, and how it had been so rudely interrupted just when things were getting…intense, good intense, so intensely good. But he wasn't entirely sure how to proposition his house ghost—or rather soulmate for another handsy make-out sesh. Not that they had the time, he internally cursed. He needed to be at work probably two hours ago.

Yami moved, and Yugi's heart leapt in his chest, pulse rising, skin prickling with anticipation. But he drifted past Yugi and a swell of disappointment formed in his gut. The spirit stopped at the back of the couch to run black fingers over the upholstery. Then he paused to type on his toy computer.

"I DID NOT ALLOW THEM TO TAKE YOUR THINGS. EVERYTHING IS BACK WHERE IT BELONGS."

"Great." Yugi swallowed. They could have taken the tv and I don't think I'd care so long I still have this puzzle, and you, and the nearest available surface… He ran his fingers nervously over the eye pattern on the front of the pendant.

Yami turned to stare at him with those dim eyes, the silhouette of his head tilting further and further to the left as if trying to make sense of something Yugi said.

"Right! Work. Gods, I'm so late. We should go or Seto is going to skin me alive."

"YOU HAVEN'T EATEN YET."

Yugi backed towards the hall leading to the bedrooms. "I'll drive that dumb Lexus today, it'll be faster than public transit. We'll pick up something to eat on the way. Or I can text Ryuji and he can deliver breakfast to my office."

Yami followed after him, not quite walking because his legs didn't move, but sort of drifting across the floor.

"I need to get dressed real fast and do my hair and make-up."

"CAN I?"

Yugi stopped, he'd only just backed up to the bathroom. "Can you what?"

"PREPARE YOU FOR WORK. I USED TO DO IT OFTEN."

Gears turned and clicked, and stuck, then turned again in Yugi's brain. He opened his mouth, inhaled, pressed his lips together then exhaled slowly through his nose. "Those mornings, when I couldn't remember getting up and ready for work, just sort of woke up already set to go…that was you, wasn't it?"

Yami ran his thumbs over the red handle of the Speak & Spell. Instead of a verbal confirmation his golden eyes scrunched as if he were smiling sheepishly.

"S-sure. I guess. If you want to… I-ok."

It felt like his face caught fire. As well as his ears, neck, probably all of his skin was burning and did Seto actually need an expense manager today? Couldn't he just call in and tell them he spontaneously combusted?

Honestly that wasn't nearly as wild as everything else that had happened to him lately.

Yami was already rushing past him towards the bedroom, tendrils of darkness reaching out to grasp Yugi's wrists and tug him along. Yugi's mind was a rush of, "I'm about to be dressed up by my shadow boyfriend," as he stumbled along after the spirit.


Leather. That was Yami's idea of appropriate work attire.

Yugi strode through the halls of Kaiba Corp, pocketing every stare thrown his way and returning them with a shy smile and quickly averted gaze. He didn't want to make eye contact with anyone.

There wasn't a nerve in his body that had had the heart to tell Yami he couldn't go to work dressed like this. The spirit had been so elated, practically oozing with energy as he swept through the bedroom fetching clothes before divesting Yugi of his towel and proceeding to dress his host for the day. He'd caught glimpses of the clothing Yami had collected for him, but the way the darkness had quivered in excitement… the sheer happiness he'd felt through their link. Well, he'd simply shut his eyes and allowed the spirit to do his worst.

His worst was black platform boots, leather pants that molded to Yugi's ass and thighs like a second skin, three leather belts layered over each other and secured with a buckle of dog teeth, an eye of Horus, and a summoned skull. Down his other thigh was a cascade of fine silver chains. His top was a cobalt blue long-sleeved button down with a black belted leather jacket hanging off his shoulders. The puzzle resting against his chest as always, but a gold choker decorated his neck today. Completing the look were some cuff links, leather bracelets with gold ankhs, two fine gold rings, and a bedazzling of ear jewelry including four helix piercings as well as a pair of gold ankhs hanging from his earlobes.

And that wasn't even all of it. Yugi's lips were colored mahogany, his eyelids painted with a dusting of aquamarine, eyes lined with black and finished with a streak of gold beneath. The whole style very reminiscent of something Egyptian.

I feel like a gothic Egyptian prince.

If their destination had been anywhere besides work he would've felt stunning in this ensemble. Yami had absolutely intended for him to look stunning, Yugi had interpreted it through their link. The intent, the desire, the spirit wanted everyone to notice Yugi and no one to touch him.

And he'd felt that.

Yugi ducked into his office before anyone he passed could catch up with him and say anything.

He slammed the door and let out the breath he'd held.

"Are you happy? Everyone was staring."

-yesyesyesyes-

Someone was exceedingly proud of himself.

"I allowed you to do this today because I'm grateful for what you did last night, but next time please choose something more workplace appropriate." Yugi crossed the room and melted into his desk chair. He threw his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Yeah, I can feel your hesitation. I know you aren't agreeing with me."

"Sir?"

Yugi's head shot up and he spied Ryuji peeking into his office with a bewildered expression.

"Talking to myself—oh fu-fish…right, you already know about him. I'm uh…talking to my spirit."

Ryuji stepped into the office and shut the door. "The black thing? The one that carried you out of Kaiba Corp the other day, and the one we saw at your apartment? The story being spun right now is that it's one of Kaiba's experimental projects."

"Yup, that's him." The expense manager flushed and stared at the surface of his desk. "Did Ryou uh… bring you up to speed with all that?"

His assistant began twisting some of his curly bangs around his finger, "Sort of…? His knowledge concerning the paranormal was… extensive, and he very thorough." As Ryuji said this the corner of his mouth turned up in a small adoring smile. But he caught Yugi's eye and it vanished immediately. "But I'm having trouble connecting it to this situation."

"Yeaaaahh. That sounds like Ryou: extremely vague about the important details but overshares about the ghouls and ghosts."

"Does the spirit have anything to do with why you showed up to work today looking fire?" Ryuji segued with an appraising look and a different kind of smile. "You know the big boss is going to have a conniption fit when he sees you today."

Yugi deflated in his chair all over again. "My spirit did this."

"Will I get a formal introduction to this spirit? He sounds like my type."

A sudden intense possessiveness flared in Yugi's chest that had nothing to do with his shared mind-link. He placed a hand on the puzzle at his chest and curled his fingers into it. "That's up to him, he shows himself when he wants to. But he's kinda reclusive with strangers." A part of him hoped that Yami chose not to show himself, as Yugi was feeling uncharacteristically selfish at the moment.

"He's here now?"

"Yeah…he goes where I go."

"I might have seen him already. There was one morning in your apartment when some weird shit happened. Scared the fuck out of me."

"Sorry bout that."

Ryuji fidgeted a bit, still aggressively worrying a strand of his curly hair. "He won't, ya know, try to hurt me at all… will he?"

"No," Yugi replied as confidently as he could. But deep down he acknowledged that he could not promise that to Ryuji.

"Well, cool," The assistant beamed. "So hey, I sorted your mail, and fielded a few calls. I also rescheduled a meeting you had this morning…" he continued to fill Yugi in on the days activities.

The two began pouring over different tasks and allocating responsibilities to make up for the hours Yugi slept in. Neither of them noticed a rogue shadow slithering up the wall and into the ventilation system.


Inside Seto Kaiba's darkened office darkness spilled from one the vents, oozing between the slats and down the wall.

It pooled on the tiled flooring before slithering beneath the various furniture and coalescing next to a lit chess board. The lights indicated it was Yami's turn. He studied the board for several long minutes, familiarizing himself with the game all over again as it had been awhile since he'd last made a move. Finally he reached out a hand and moved his knight to take out one of Kaiba's rooks. The lights on the board shifted, indicating it was now Kaiba's turn.

Yami rose away from the board just as the tall-backed office chair turned about to face him.

"I thought I might catch you in here today."

The spirit froze. Molten gold eyes shone with a smoldering brilliance in the dimness of the office.

Kaiba's steel-blue eyes shone back from beneath the shadow of his bangs. "Have a seat…Yami." He gestured to the vacant guest chair on the opposite side of his desk. It looked small and properly disused, but no less expensive than the rest of the office.

Yami's third eye darted toward the vent high up on the wall before the pupil slowly shifted back to Kaiba.

The man never took his eyes off the spirit.

For a small eternity they simply locked stares with each other. Minutes passed. Finally Yami took a step towards the desk. The tension that had built between them seemed to slacken then. Not gone, but like an archer lowering a drawn bow. The spirit closed the distance opting to stand behind the guest chair, rather than take a seat before the louring CEO.

"I figured it was you." Kaiba gestured to the chess board with a flick of his wrist. "But it's still fun to have my theories validated."

Yami remained as silent as always. He neither had his Speak & Spell, nor his white board, but even had he either he had no intention holding conversation with Seto Kaiba. He'd been caught trespassing, had gotten lax in scouting before entering. He'd taken the darkness and apparent vacantness for granted. So he would humor the man for now.

"Not many can play chess with me to the level of skill which you display," Kaiba leaned back in his chair, crossed a leg over his knee and steepled his fingers. "It wasn't hard to put the pieces together. Especially since your absence coincided with a certain expense manager of mine."

Yami stared, his once alert third eye blinking shut then vanishing completely.

Kaiba's mouth twitched. "Yugi must be in good health today if you are up here paying me a visit." Silence. Kaiba continued, "I…acknowledge my lapse in composure the last time we dueled, we were unable to conclude the game. An unfortunate draw."

Void arms crossed over Yami's chest, golden eyes narrowing into a derisive shape.

"Bring your cards tomorrow and we can settle this in a rematch."

If he could, the Spirit would have rolled his eyes. He turned toward he wall, his form in the beginnings of melting when Kaiba's hand shot up in a halting motion.

"Not yet."

Yami paused, the edges of his form bristling.

Kaiba pushed a bundle of plastic credit card shaped things across the desk. "Passes to Kaiba-Land's waterpark. VIP, the for the last of the season. For Mutou, the assistant, and his gaggle of friends. The forecast says it will be nice this weekend and Mokuba wanted to go. He's an adult, and there will be security, but he's also high profile now. You're…" Kaiba paused seeming to weigh his words, "I trust that third eye can look out for him."

Golden eyes narrowed further.

"I'm asking this of you specifically. Don't involve Yugi. The passes are for him to have a good time since I ruined his Monster World game day."

An apology to Yugi.

And a body guard assignment for me. Kaiba trusted him, an ancient horror, with his younger brother's safety. He must have some reason to be concerned about Mokuba's well being. Perhaps due to some business dealing, or precarious political situation. There was mention of a corporate lawyer the last time the little brother had been in Yugi's office.

Yami rolled his shoulders. A tentacle shot from his side, scooping the waterpark passes from the desk. There was another tense silence between them. All hard stares. Then he reached down with a hand and snatched up a pen. He looked about, did not find any paper to write on and decided the desktop would do just as well.

Yami scribbled out a message on the polished mahogany surface of Kaiba's desk.

'Come to Mou Hitori no Ore's office before he leaves today.'

He looked the CEO straight in the eye as he tossed the pen back on the desk. It was as much an expression of gratitude as he could offer.

Then the spirit melted into a puddle and shot up the wall, disappearing back into the ventilation from which he'd come.