Yugi yawned dramatically as he scratched his scalp lightly. He'd had trouble sleeping the night before and was in a very sour mood. He knew today was not going to be his day.

He trudged down the stairs and into the small kitchen and his nose wrinkled in disgust as a rotten smell filled his nostrils.

"What the hell is that?" He mumbled to himself. He scanned the counter, which was free of any and all dishes, then he turned to the small fridge in the corner.

Yugi slowly wrapped his fingers around the handle, noticing that it wasn't as cold to the touch as it was normally. He slowly cracked the fridge door open, then he gagged and slammed the door shut.

Fantastic. He had a broken fridge and no money to get it fixed thanks to his brilliant chess tournament. He was so sure the tournament would bring in new customers so he spent his budget for the month on all of the preparations.

He would be in even more debt if he didn't at least break even next week.

Yugi sighed and rummaged around in his pantry, pulling out a brightly colored energy drink. He would have to drink it warm, but it was better than drinking spoiled milk for breakfast. He took his drink to the small family room at the back of the living space and sat on the old, worn, leather couch.

He set the tall can on the small coffee table and took his phone out of his pajama bottoms. He absentmindedly scrolled through his Twitter feed before reaching out for his drink, knocking the very full can over onto the wooden table.

"God fucking dammit!" He growled, hurriedly running into the kitchen to grab a paper towel. He frantically looked around the kitchen, slowly coming to the horrifying realization that he was out of paper towels.

He quickly grabbed the closest dish towel and ran back into the living room to clean up the pooling liquid that had quickly spread across the entire table and had dripped onto the carpet. He moodily cleaned up the mess, making sure to go over the spots with soap and water so the sticky substance didn't attract ants.

Yugi fell back onto the couch and let out a frustrated groan.

Today sucks absolute butt and it's not even 10am, He thought, suddenly realizing he was late opening the game shop.

"Shit!" He jumped up off of the couch and ran upstairs, throwing on the first clothes he could grab from the closet. He rushed downstairs and into the business area, flipping on the lights.

His heart sank when he realized that all of the materials he was going to use for the chess tournament were all over the floor. Unopened boxes, folding tables, and blank signage were strewn about messily in the otherwise clean game shop. He smacked his hand against his forehead, vaguely remembering that last night, he had decided to get up early and organize the mess before opening the shop.

Great.

Yugi looked at the clock on the wall and clicked his tongue. There was no time. He pushed all of the materials into the living area and shut the separating door. At least the store front looked clean. He would have to deal with the real mess later along with the broken fridge.

He performed his opening duties and finally went to unlock the door to flip the sign from 'closed' to 'open'. When he opened the door, he was shocked to meet a pair of dark crimson eyes.

Yugi blinked and took a step back in astonishment. "A-Atem?! What are you-how are you here? Why are you here?" He blurted, not caring if he sounded rude. He was having a rough day and another unannounced visit from Atem was the last thing he needed.

Atem was mid-knock while Yugi questioned him. He lowered his arm and smiled sheepishly. "It's a bit of a long story. Do you mind if I come in?" He asked, knowing he was pushing his luck.

Yugi kept his body firmly between Atem and the entrance to the store. "I'm sure it's not that long of a story. You can tell me from where you're standing," he said coldly. He had thought that he made himself clear the last time Atem showed his face without calling.

Atem winced at Yugi's harsh tone. He hadn't forgotten their last encounter and was hoping he could at least apologize for his behavior. But, it seemed his Aibou wasn't ready to hear an apology.

I shouldn't apologize anyway. Aibou's the one who used me! He exclaimed to himself, staring at Yugi's soft and hardened gaze.

Atem sighed and smiled warmly at Yugi. "Sorry to disturb you so early in the morning, Yugi. I've just found myself in a bit of a tough situation that's left me without accommodations for this evening," he explained carefully.

Yugi raised an eyebrow. "Accommodations? You mean a place to stay the night?" He asked. He knew what Atem was trying to ask of him but it was out of the question. He wasn't used to telling people, most of all Atem, the word 'no' but now was the time to stand his ground.

Atem nodded sheepishly. "You see, Kaiba has this girl staying with him and, well, I don't exactly feel comfortable staying in the mansion with her there," he explained.

Yugi bit back a scoff. "Isn't the mansion gigantic? So gigantic, that you wouldn't even have to speak to Kaiba if you didn't want to?"

Atem pursed his lips and cleared his throat. "I shouldn't have come here," he said without thinking.

"You're right. You shouldn't have." Yugi retorted quickly. It was too early for this nonsense.

Atem swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked rapidly to keep tears from forming. When did Yugi become so...mean?

"I hope your tournament goes well today. Again, sorry to bother you." Atem said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Yugi furrowed his brow. "The chess tournament? That's not until next week."

Atem became even more confused. He was beginning to think that Kaiba was trying to start drama but even then, how could the CEO know of the tension between himself and Yugi?

Yugi sighed impatiently. "It would really be best if you left. I have to open the shop and I really can't handle having you here right now," he explained, proud of himself for having spoken his mind.

Atem nodded, glaring down at the cement. "Sorry to show up again. I didn't mean to inconvenience you, Yugi."

Yugi hurriedly flipped the sign on the door. "Yeah," he responded half-heartedly. He knew that if Atem had cared about his feelings, he wouldn't have shown up out of the blue. This situation proved to Yugi that Atem hadn't changed a bit.

Atem turned away from the door and walked away, butthurt. He didn't like the idea of walking back to the Kaiba mansion with his tail between his legs, but he had nowhere else to go.

Yugi slammed the door shut once he got back inside, leaning against the door for support. He covered his face with his hands and slid down to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

He felt as if he did what was right for himself in the moment, but why did he feel so awful now that Atem was gone?

Yugi stood up slowly and quickly wiped the tears away from his face. He couldn't think about that now. He had a business to run. It was a small business but it was his and all that he had to his name. He couldn't let his personal drama interfere with his job.

I have to be strong, he thought, walking around the counter and waiting at his post for the first customer even though, deep down, he knew there most likely wouldn't be any customers today.

His shop was failing and it was all his fault. But, he knew in order to fix it, he had to stay focused.

Atem is a distraction. He can find his own 'accommodations'. Yeah, he'll be fine. I'll be fine…

...I'll be fine…


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Editor: prettiugli