Yay for the weekend! I hope to smash out yet another chapter while I have time up my sleeve. I hope you are enjoying the story so far- where do you think it will go from here? What do y'all think of James?

Question for you (if anybody reads this)- do my posting song lyrics above each chapter bug you? Would you prefer if I didn't do it? I generally try to post songs that are reflective of Yugi's frame of mind around the time of writing, or even my own, and they're all songs I really like. I'd be interested to see if anybody actually gets anything out of it or if you'd rather I launch right into each chapter. Let me know! :)

***I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.***

Are they really deep inside your head?
Do they control you like a little marionette?

-X.U. - Sawano Hiroyuki[nzk] Gemie (Owari no Seraph intro song)

Yugi sat beside James on the couch, the flickering TV images reflected in his wide unfocused gaze. He was bored; they had been watching TV for over two hours, and at first the over-the-top antics and crass jokes had Yugi laughing along loudly with James, but he was beginning to tire of it now. It was loud and annoying and full of the same canned laughter, line after line. Yugi wanted to go outside, maybe see the gang, as he hadn't had much time to so in the past week since his return. However, he did feel quite comfortable and snug, curled up next to James on the worn out old couch. He had started visiting James' house more often, at the brunette's request; it was a lot more private as James' parents both travelled extensively for work, and it was closer to school than Yugi's house.

Since his return from the tournament, Yugi had spent a lot of time with his boyfriend. It was great; James made him laugh, and made Yugi feel safe, and wanted. He confessed to Yugi that he preferred to just hang out with him alone; while he didn't dislike the gang, he was by nature very quiet and he struggled with Ryou's (or rather, Bakura's) obvious dislike of him. Yugi sympathised with him; nobody in the group were what you'd consider withdrawn, and even relatively shy Ryou had no problem mingling in the thick of it- with the help of his Other, of course. I can't imagine how stressful James must find it, if he is not used to being around lots of loud people! I'll have to remember this in the future and keep his needs in mind.

Yugi felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and fished it out of his pants. It was just an email notification; Yugi thumbed through the message, quickly taking in the general gist- he was invited to a mixer card tournament. It wasn't an official, ranked match, but rather an informal opportunity to gather with fellow champions to trade, duel, and socialise. Yugi had gone the previous year and had greatly enjoyed himself; as the other players invited were all quite highly ranked, there was a lot less attention paid to himself, which he preferred, and the matches were all challenging but skilled, and very enjoyable. He smiled faintly to himself as he recalled Kaiba's reaction to being invited as well; the billionaire had almost vomited at the thought of having to socialise with 'inferior card wielding apes' and had refused point-blank to make an appearance. He had, however, ensured that only Kaiba Corp. equipment was used in the matches, and the logo had been plastered over every square inch of the arena; Kaiba certainly knew his business, even if his people skills were severely lacking.

"Yugi, you just missed the best bit!" James prodded Yugi in the ribs lightly, making the smaller teen jump with surprise. "You promised you'd watch this with me; it's one of my favourite shows." James pulled a mocking sad face at Yugi, sidling over to put his arm around Yugi's shoulders. "Who are you talking to, anyway?" He peered over at the phone, trying to make out the small text.

Yugi laughed. "It's just an email. An invitation to an informal mixer duel tournament."

James wrinkled his nose slightly. "Really? They do those? So, are you going to go? When is it?"

Yugi squinted at the email again. "The fourth of next month; it runs for a week but the last three days are the fun ones, when the duels take place. The first few days are workshops, swap meets, and training classes held for anybody who is interested. I really enjoyed it last year, so I think I might go again." Yugi closed his phone and turned to James, immediately noticing the downcast expression on the other boy's face. "Wh-what's wrong?"

James scratched his nose, looking sheepish. "Uh, well, this is going to sound really lame, but it's my birthday that week too." At Yugi's noise of surprise, James flapped his hands in negation, and cheerfully cried "but that's okay! I didn't tell you, after all, so you didn't know. And I know how important Duel Monsters is to you, so I don't mind if you want to go to the mixer." Yugi closed his mouth and smiled as a wave of affection for James flowed over him; he really was great. Yugi didn't know yet if he even would attend the mixer, but the fact that James was happy to be left behind while he did so really meant a lot to him. It showed just how much James acknowledged Yugi's love of Duel Monsters.

James fiddled with the TV remote in his hands, then suddenly blurted, "I mean, I was hoping you and I could do something together, to celebrate my birthday, and moving here… It's my first birthday away from my old school friends. But that's okay- we can celebrate when you get back, even more if you win all your matches!" he grinned over at Yugi, but the smaller teen was somehow aware that it was a fake smile; James really wanted Yugi there for his birthday.

Yugi's first thought was that of disappointment; he really did enjoy the mixers, as it was a rare chance to meet all the other duellists from around the country. However, he reasoned, it was selfish of him to go and leave James all alone on his birthday, while Yugi, his boyfriend, socialised and had a great time on his own. Yugi felt a wave of disgust at himself for being so uncaring of James' needs, when the brunette had been such a solid friend and comfort to Yugi in recent months. Berating himself internally, Yugi took the remote from James' hands and laid his head on the taller boy's shoulder, looking up into the deep purple eyes he loved so much.

"No, it's ok. Thanks for being so understanding, but I'd rather stay here with you- it will be your birthday after all! I can go to a mixer another time; different companies throw them all year round. Let's celebrate you, instead." As Yugi spoke, James' face split into an enormous grin, and he pulled Yugi closer, almost entirely onto his lap.

"You're so great, Yugi! Thank you! I'm so excited!" He jiggled Yugi about on his lap with glee. Yugi laughed in response; it was worth missing a mixer just to see James this happy.

Suddenly, James was clasping Yugi's chin in one hand, his eyes twinkling with triumph. "You are so cute when you laugh," he murmured, bringing his lips up to meet Yugi's. The kiss was long and gentle; Yugi thought he was maybe getting better at it now that he'd had some practice. Finally, the two boys pulled apart. James grinned into Yugi eyes, his own deeply purple orbs locking Yugi into place and making his thoughts stutter. "I'm so glad you're going to spend my birthday with me instead of at a silly card game mixer; we're going to have so much fun!" He pulled Yugi back in for a deeper kiss.

Yugi allowed himself to be drawn in, his mind full of nothing but those large purple eyes. He completely agreed.