A/N: Day 2: College

Snap.

Yugi fell back into a chair, once again fighting a wave of nausea and vertigo as his senses recalibrated. The clothing clutched in his hand fell in a heap to the floor. With a small groan, Yugi looked blearily down at the worn desktop before putting his head down. Never in his life had a dream ever made him feel this way. He cursed at his rolling stomach and pounding head, resting his cheek against the cool surface.

"I wouldn't put your head down there if I were you."

With an almost imperceivable groan, Yugi looked up to see another face he was familiar with. Standing in front of him was one of his best friends, Tristan Taylor. "T-Tristan?"

"Yeah, that's my name. And who might you be?"

Yugi blinked as a feeling of unease took root in his chest. Another person he knows that did not seem to recognize him! How can this be happening? He definitely was no longer in that place with the dragons. Tristan was dressed in modern clothing and Yugi could see the students milling around finding their work benches. This place looked and felt like his university campus, but yet, something was decidedly different.

Yugi's attention was drawn to a collection of intricate and delicate glass work displayed on the work bench in front of him. Erlenmeyer flasks and test tubes were lined up neatly in rows along the far edge of the desk. Rounded glass flasks were suspended by ring stands above Bunsen burners, connected to each other by elaborate glass tubing. Yugi swallowed. He was in a chemistry lab. What was he doing in a chemistry lab?

"Hey buddy, you alright? You're kind of spacing out there…"

"Oh, right. I'm, ah, just a bit tired that's all. My name is Yugi Muto." Yugi said as he rubbed at his temple, finally feeling brave enough to sit up straight in his seat.

"Right, 'tired'. You must have had a fun time at the frat party last night." Tristan snickered, making a vague drinking motion with his hand. Yugi chuckled gingerly in response.

"Well, if you're gonna puke, at least do it in the can or something. Who knows what sort of chemical reactions vomit could start off in here."

Without another word, Tristan waved at someone behind Yugi and left him at the bench, alone and confused. He fought the urge to put his head back down on the tabletop. This has to be a dream again. It has to be. Although, Yugi had never had a dream so vivid. Maybe this is a fever dream? Maybe I'm just really, really sick.

"Is this seat taken?"

Yugi looked up from the desktop and his stomach dropped. Another familiar face was peering down at him. His heart nearly stopped.

"Oh! No, no take a seat." Yugi stumbling over his words as he waved at the empty chair.

"Thank you." The crimson eyed man sat down, his brown kitting slightly. "You look… ill. Are you alright?"

"Ah, just a little hungover." Yugi lied. He hated lying, but there was no way that he could even begin to explain exactly why he was disoriented. No one would never believe him. "But I will be fine."

"Ah yes, the frat party." he relied with a smile. "I hope you had fun."

"Ah, yeah, I did." Yugi lied again.

"Well, I know I would have had more fun if I had been drinking with you." The smile slowly grew into a confident smirk.

Yugi blinked, feeling a flush prickle at his ears as his brain short circuited. What was he trying to say?

"I'm Atem Sennen, and who might you be?"

"Yugi Muto."

"Yugi…" the college student across from him roll the name on his tongue thoughtfully, the deep baritone of his voice making it sound much better than it ever should. "So tell me Yugi, what brings you to chemistry?"

"I, uh, like bonds. And atoms." Yugi scrambled again, willing his own voice steady and convincing despite the heightening of his nerves. "And I need to complete this course to graduate."

Atem chuckled, crossing his arms against the tabletop as he leaned forward. "I also need this as a prerequisite. And what can I say, I like bonds too."

The flush started to creep towards his cheeks. The way Atem enunciated the word 'bonds' was different, deep and full of an unspoken meaning. Yugi suppressed a fidget under the rapt stare. If he did not know better, it was as if Atem was hitting on him. No, that cannot right. Atem would not hit on me, would he? Yet, there he was, smiling an almost damning smirk and talking about bonds, drinks and chemistry. A lump formed in Yugi's throat. Thankfully, he was quickly provided a reprieve from the confusing situation as a loud voice hushed the room.

"Alright, take your seats. We need to start the experiment here soon or else it will be difficult to finish during your allotted lab time." The TA called from the front of the lab, prompting students to scurry to seats and settle in for the lab.

Even though the crowd of students had now settled, Yugi certainly was not.

Thankfully, when it came down to actually working on the experiment, they were able to settle into a easy rhythm. They huddled around the bench as they worked together through the stepwise lab worksheets. Although their work was mostly silent, interspersed with the occasional simple command or questions, Yugi could not help but feel distracted. His mind kept cycling back to what Atem had said before. How he looked at him, eyes drawn and playful. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if he was indeed being hit on. It made him feel some sort of indefinable way, which was admittedly as pleasant as it was confusing.

Yugi could not deny that Atem was attractive. Now that he thought about it, with that jawline, that smile and those ruby eyes, Yugi was amazed that his Atem did not have a significant other. In the eight months that they had lived together, he had never brought a date to their apartment. In fact, Yugi had never even heard Atem mention anything about dates or dating. Maybe he did not date? He knew that he could be a bit awkward in certain social situations, so maybe that's why he had never heard anything about his love life?

This Atem, however, was decidedly less awkward and it was starting to drive Yugi crazy.

Atem's arm brushed against his shoulder as he reached around him for a graduated cylinder, causing a ripple of goosebumps to bloom on Yugi's skin. He froze, pencil stalled on paper mid-word. He kept his face down as he willed his blush away. Since when did that sort of accidental contact make him blush? What was going on with him?

"My apologies." Came the murmur from beside him. "Did you get all of that down?"

"Uh, yeah, I think." Yugi murmured.

"Good, now we can move on to part three." Atem announced, a finger coming to rest beside one of the headings of the worksheet to indicate their next experiment. "It looks like we are going to do an experiment looking at thermodynamics for this next step."

"Thermodynamics?"

"Yes. Observing how the relationships of different types of energy, namely heat. So when we go to mix the ammonium nitrate with water, there will be an exothermic reaction. Meaning, these two chemicals will cause heat to be released as they mingle." Atem taught, as Yugi found himself suspended in those warm crimson pools. "Be careful when you mix them, it can get hot."

Yugi was sure he was giving off a lot of heat right now. He cursed internally about his unfortunate ability to blush as bright as a supernova. "Ah, yeah. Right. Safety first."

The deep chuckle from beside him melted him even further before it undid him completely. "Yes, always use protection."

Yugi choked, turning away in mortification as he coughed and sputtered. From beside him, he heard Atem's chuckle became a full laugh.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, great." Yugi reassured breathily. When he could finally breathe again, he turned back around to see Atem offering him a set of gloves.

"Your protection." The item was accompanied with a mirthful smile.

"Thanks."

Much to Yugi's relief, the remainder of the lab passed by without incident, either of the chemical or aspiration kind. Their time in the lab had come to an end, and Yugi had just finished washing up his portion of the glassware. As he tucked away the last of the flasks, a question broke their silence.

"Mind if I ask you a question?"

Yugi stopped. Thankfully, he had managed to keep his composure for the rest of their interaction, but only because he was preoccupied with the experiment. This question had once again alerted him to Atem's proximity, which had been a strange double-edged sword. The strange magnetism that had been building between him and Atem had started to make itself known once again.

"Of course, Atem."

"I'm really liking you style, but I would not have pegged you as a tunic kind of guy."

Oh. He looked down and sure enough, the medieval dark tunic he had been loaned was still there, very much out of place amongst the sea of hoodies and jeans he was surrounded by. "Oh, yeah. Right. I had a little trouble this morning and needed to borrow some clothes."

"That good of a night?"

Damn his smirk. "Oh, n-no not like that!"

"There's nothing wrong with a bit of bonding, Yugi." Atem said with a shrug. "Molecules are not the only things that deserve to benefit from the laws of chemistry."

The flush came back full force. "Ah, no! I ended up falling into a… small pond this morning and got completely soaked. One of my friends leant me this. Ah, and for proof…"

It's got to be here somewhere… Quickly remembering his clothing in hand when he arrived here, Yugi frantically searched the floor until he found the heap of damp clothing. Yugi hummed in satisfaction as he brandished it in front of him for the tricolour haired man to inspect as if it were a key piece of evidence. Atem raised an eyebrow.

"You fell into a pond?"

"Yes. I'm a bit clumsy to begin with, and when I'm hung over, oh boy, it gets much, much worse!"

Atem chuckled. "That's oddly endearing."

"Well, I'm glad you think so because I felt stupid needing to be pulled out of the water like that." Yugi set the pile of clothing down.

"It happens to the best of us. We all need help sometimes." Atem joined Yugi at his side. "Now, in the spirit of helping, would you let me help you into something more fitting? That is, if you have a moment before your next class. I don't want to impose if you have some place else you need to be."

There was no next class, but Yugi was not about to divulge that. It was all very strange, but he found himself not quite ready to leave. He was drawn and bound, pulled in by a current found in an unexpected place and with an unexpected person. Even though a part of him remained confused and apprehensive, he could not deny his curiosity. Yugi nodded.

"I have a few hours until my next class, and I would really appreciate that." Yugi cursed his awkwardness, but the college student across from him did not seem to notice. His smile grew wide and he tossed his backpack over his shoulder.

"Wonderful. Follow me."

"Ok."

"Did you also lose your backpack in the pond?"

Yugi rubbed at the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah."

"I can lend you one of those as well."

They milled through the crowds as Atem lead Yugi out of the chemistry building. Outside of the doors was a sprawling lawn dotted with students and backpacks taking advantage of the warm fall day. The sunshine warmed his cheeks as he followed Atem down a sidewalk through the middle of the quad. They chatted about the turning leaves and the classes Atem was taking. Thankfully, Atem was plenty preoccupied with answering the questions Yugi posed. He did not need him prying further into his non-existent enrollment at this college.

Finally, Atem announced that they had arrived. "The Rundle Hall dormitories, my home away from home."

Yugi followed Atem through the doorway and up three flights of stairs. Just like the dormitories he stayed at in his first year, the hallways were filled with students popping in and out of rooms, the whole floor filled with the murmur of a multitude of conversations. The door to room 303 bore two names written on coloured construction paper: Atem and Joey. Atem knocked on the door and after a couple seconds without a response, he dug out his key.

"He must not be around." Atem murmured as he inserted the key into the lock.

Joey… "Is your dormmate's last name Wheeler by any chance?"

"Yes. Do you know him?"

"I think I ran into him at a party once. Small world."

"Yeah, he's not around too much. He spends a lot of his time at his boyfriend Seto's place off campus." Atem propped the door open so Yugi could enter.

The room spoke of two tales. Two single beds pushed up against opposite walls. Two small desks were pushed next to each other under the window. However, that's where the symmetry ended. The right side of the room was neat and tidy, bed made and desk organized, while the left side was the pure embodiment of chaos.

"Which side is yours?" Yugi asked as he eyed the pile of laundry shoved in the corner of the left-hand side of the room.

"Which side do you think?"

"It doesn't matter what I think, I just really hope your's is the right side."

To Yugi's delight, Atem laughed. "Well, you are in luck. Make yourself at home, I will grab you something from this century."

Yugi pulled out the little wooden chair from the desk, spinning it around to face the rest of the room while Atem started rooting through his closet.

"I think I may even have some pants that will fit you." Came the muffled offer. Atem bent over to reach for something at the bottom of his closet organizer, and Yugi felt a sudden and inexplicable urge to accept.

Atem turned around, a couple of shirts and pairs of pants in his arms. "Alright, here are a few choices… hmm? What is wrong?"

"Oh, nothing! Thanks for doing this by the way. I really appreciate it!"

"It's my pleasure." That smirk again.

Yugi grabbed the clothing with another murmured thanks and ducked out to find a washroom. When he returned to the dormitory dressed in the black button down shirt and purple jeans Atem had leant him, he found Atem kneeling on the floor fussing over a small flat screen TV.

"Oh, hi." Atem greeted as he finished plugging the cable in the back of the TV. Next to the TV was a Nintendo 64 nestled in a box, partially covered by game cartridges. "I'm glad to see the pants fit nicely."

He really is flirting, isn't he? Yugi one again seemed to lose the battle with his blush and merely nodded.

"I was, uh, going to play something while I waited for my next class… you're welcome to join me if you like that sort of thing."

To his surprise, the now obviously flirtatious tone had faded, replaced with a cautiously hopeful note that ended his own hesitation. Yugi sat down beside him, leaning back against Atem's bed. "Sounds like fun."

"Really?" Atem smiled, moving to sit beside Yugi. "Ah, good! Oh and here's the other thing."

Atem let out a small hum as he reached around his other side, collecting a small black backpack. He held it out. "To replace the one in the pond."

Yugi accepted the bag and tossed his original, still somewhat damp clothing in it. Even in this universe, Atem seemed to be looking out for him.

After a moment, Atem returned back to the TV, readying the console and controllers.

"I was thinking maybe we could go for a couple rounds of Super Smash Brothers." Atem offered, waving a controller towards Yugi.

"Hmmm… only if you want to be beat at your own pick."

"Oh really?" an eyebrow arched.

"Well, start it up and see for yourself!"

"Oh you're on!"

They sat on Atem's floor for several hours, pressing buttons with vigor to make their virtual characters duck and jab all in the name of victory. Yugi would never admit it, but Atem was better at this game than he was. It took him everything he had to keep their records even. This Atem was just as good as the one he knew.

Yugi felt a familiar apprehension build in his mind. He has had some interesting experiences, but he could not help but wonder what exactly was going on… and whether he would be able to go back. The more he thought about it, the less it all felt like a dream. The floor underneath him was too hard. The science experiments were much too elaborate for his mind to dream up. The feeling of soaring through the sky. The water seeped through his shirt as he was pulled out of the river. It was all too real.

Even Atem next to him was too real. The lines on his face, accentuating the furrow in his brow as he stared intently at the TV screen. That small freckle at the base of his neck. His smell of cedar and musk that seemed to pull him in like a warm embrace. It could not be all in his head…

… but if it was not all in his head, then where was he?

"You gave up that last stock all too easily." Atem teased as before his eyes softened. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry. I'm just, ah, doing some thinking."

"About what?" Atem let himself fall back against the bed, eyes meeting his.

"Oh, it's nothing. There's just a few things I'm going through and I'm just trying to make sense of it all."

A beat of silence.

"Hey, I know we just met, but if you ever want to talk about it I'm always open, you know?"

The question hung between the two, mingling with the something else that had been hanging there ever since they met at the lab. Honestly, all of of these questions were too much for Yugi to deal with at the moment. He would rather not think about them right now and just spend his time here with the one person who felt more like home than anyone else in the world.

And home was about to be ripped from him again.

"Yugi?"

"What?"

"I think your wrist is glowing."

"Glowing?" Just as the word left his tongue, the world tilted off its axis. Yugi stifled a groan. Not again. Not now. His hands scrambled for the backpack, pulling it tight against his chest.

"Yugi, are you alright?"

"No." Yugi replied weakly. "This is very strange, abnormal and I don't expect you to understand any of this…"

"What are you talking about?" Panic shook the once suave voice.

Yugi rolled up his shirt sleeve to expose the band on his wrist, blue light filling the room. "This thing… I don't know what it is, but I'm about to go."

"Go?"

"Yeah." Yugi said almost bitterly. "And before I do, I just want to say thank you."

"For what?" The unbridled panic in Atem's eyes nearly tore him in two.

"For a lot."

His vision faded. The moment did too.

Snap.

A/N: All done in the name of making bad chemistry puns/pick up lines and plot advancement (Yugi's obliviousness should be gone now... right?) hahaha.