Chapter Four

Yugi was finding it hard to concentrate with Yami sitting next to him.

It had been a month since the younger boy had first met the King of Games, and after Yami's initial visit three weeks ago, the older boy had become a reoccurring visitor in the Mutou apartment. The pair was currently seated in Yugi's living room, a long, squat space with green carpet and a row of windows that opened to the street, darkening as dusk fell. The boys sat at the coffee table, Yugi working on a class assignment and Yami sorting through his duel deck.

Yugi glanced over at Yami as he studied the card in his hand with same intense stare that always made Yugi blush whenever it turned on him. The older boy sorted the card into one of the many piles he had started, building the different magic, trap, and monster cards into strategic sequences for a tournament next week.

Yami's eyes slid to the Yugi's as he sorted another card, smirking as he caught the younger boy's stare. Yugi's stomach fluttered, caught, and he bit his lip to hide his smile, turning back to his book. He stared at the words on the page, but they turned into alphabet soup as Yami's leg brushed against his.

Yugi expected the energy that rolled through him at the older boy's touch, but the power, dark and heavy, didn't scare him anymore. It had taken a few days together but now, the younger boy felt at ease around Yami and, he relaxed, warmth spiraling through him as Yami's leg settled against his. The more time he spent with him, the more Yugi realized that Yami's presence was actually kind of calming, protective even, and Yugi had found himself giving into the older boy's unassuming charm more and more each time they were together.

"What do you think of this?" Yami said, breaking Yugi's thoughts. He pointed to one of the sequence piles in front of him.

Yugi squinted at the monster and magic card pairing across the table. "Personally, I think you should add this," he said, pointing to a trap card in another sequence, "with Elf Swordsman and Lighting Storm because even though Lightning Storm boosts Elf Swordsman's attack points, you can't attack until your next turn. And, if your opponent summons something more powerful in the meanwhile, you could lose your monster and a chunk of your life points."

The older boy was smirking at him again.

"What?" Yugi said. He glanced back at the cards, but couldn't find any problems with his idea.

"I didn't know you knew so much about Duel Monsters," Yami said. He added the trap card that Yugi had suggested to the sequence.

"I told you that my grandfather taught me," Yugi said, shrugging. "I mean, I live above a game shop."

"But, you refuse to duel me," Yami said.

"You're the Duel Monster's champion!" Yugi said. "You'd destroy me."

Yami shook his head, picking up another card, and something clicked in Yugi's mind.

"You were testing me!" Yugi said, realizing the intention of Yami's question. "You just wanted to figure out how difficult of a challenge I would be in a duel."

Yami shrugged, sorting his next card. "Trickery comes with the title, aibou."

Yugi felt his face heating up at the nickname. "I wish you would stop calling me that," he said.

"And I wish you would duel with me," Yami said. "I think it would prove interesting for us both." The look Yami gave him felt like the older boy was imagining something much less platonic than a simple Duel Monster's game, and Yugi shifted as he felt a part of himself stirring against his thigh.

The younger boy looked back at his textbook, willing himself to stop blushing. No matter how much time he spent with Yami, it seemed like the older boy always knew just what to say to turn his mind into mush.

Yugi picked up his reading, finding a groove as he managed his way through two of the assigned chapters. His class was in the midst of the Stone Age, but Yugi had long skipped ahead to read the later chapters on ancient Egypt, finding no mention of the Millennium Puzzle.

No matter how many times he and Ryou, who owned a gold ring with the same eye symbol that was inscribed on Millennium Puzzle, scoured the library, neither of them could find any mention of millennium items in any of the Egypt literature, even the graduate level research. It was as if the millennium items did not exist, and Yugi was starting to wonder if his grandfather had been right about the puzzle's origin.

Yami hadn't mentioned the puzzle since the day that they met in the café, and though his grandfather had warned him against discussing the puzzle with others, valuable as it was, Yugi was curious what the older boy knew.

"Yami?" Yugi said. "Do you remember the puzzle I mentioned a while back? The one my grandfather gave me?"

"Yes, I remember," Yami said, poker faced as always. "What about it?"

"Do you know anything about it? I was wondering because you said your parents were from Egypt, and you seemed interested when I mentioned it before," Yugi said.

Yami was silent for a moment, putting down the card in his hand. "There was a legend about a puzzle that my mother used to tell me as a child," he said. "It was about an ancient pharaoh who was one of seven who owned items with mystical properties. They were known as millennium items."

Yugi nodded, excitement growing. "My grandfather told me the puzzle he gave me was known as the Millennium Puzzle, but I could never find anything about it online or anywhere else."

"The pharaoh's puzzle was said to grant ancient magic to he who wore it. Shadow magic, it was called," Yami said. "As the story goes, the pharaoh sealed his soul in the puzzle with the help of an ancient priest so that he could one day be reborn and gain full use of his powers in order to save the world."

"Wow," Yugi said. "It's too bad that I am not nearly cool enough to be an ancient pharaoh…" He smiled. "I'm glad that you've heard of it though – I swear that I've been researching the puzzle since I got it three years ago and, I've never found anything."

Yugi returned to his work, mind still buzzing over finally uncovering something about the puzzle's mysterious origins. Ryou and I should try looking through some of the legend books in the stacks and see if we can find anything about the puzzle or his ring, Yugi thought, excited at the lead Yami had given him.

"In truth, the puzzle wasn't told to be reborn with the pharaoh," Yami said, distracting Yugi from forming his new research plan of attack.

"What happened to it then?" the younger boy asked.

"It was destined to find its way to his hikari," Yami said.

Yugi's forehead wrinkled in confusion. He'd never heard the term mentioned in any of Egyptian folklore. "Is that a person?" he said.

Yami paused. He picked up one his cards, and then set it back down, meeting the younger boy's eyes. "A hikari is the pharaoh's soul mate, his light, so to speak. He is meant keep the shadows of the shadow realm at bay so the pharaoh may fight the darkness without fear when the time comes."

"Oh," Yugi said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not going to have an ancient pharaoh showing up at my door anytime soon, right?" He smiled, but it faded as Yami remained silent.

What's with him? Yugi wondered.

"Would you permit me to see it?" Yami said. "Your puzzle that is."

The younger boy hesitated, but realized it was silly to be worried about showing Yami the puzzle. It wasn't like the older boy was going to steal it, and if he did, being the King of Games didn't make him exactly incognito.

"Sure," Yugi said. "Hold on a sec." He grabbed the box from his desk drawer, returning to the living room and placing it on the table. He pulled out the somewhat completed pyramid and the pieces he still had left to use. "I'm so close to finishing but, I've still got these to go," he said, spreading the pieces out in front of Yami.

The older boy looked stricken as Yugi placed the puzzle in front of him, his face paling as he reached out then stopped, looking unsure. "May I?" he asked.

Yugi nodded, curious to Yami's caution.

Yami reached out for the biggest piece, his fingers brushing the eye emblazoned there. He froze, a shudder racking through him before he jerked away as if burned.

"Are you okay?" Yugi said, concerned as the other boy took a shaky breath.

"I'm fine," Yami said, but he sounded shaken, continuing to stare at the piece as if transfixed.

"Are you sure? That's never happened before. It looked like the puzzle shocked you," Yugi said.

"I'm fine," Yami repeated, looking away from the piece at last. "I do hope you show me the puzzle when you've completed it though."

"Sure," Yugi said. He put the puzzle back in the box, returning it to his room in case his grandfather came upstairs and had a heart attack when he saw that he'd been showing the Mutou treasure to a guest. He didn't even know that Ryou knew about it. When Yugi returned to the living room, Yami was standing, looking out one of the now dark windows, shoulders tense.

Yugi joined him, looking down at the foot traffic that passed beneath them as people toted briefcases and backpacks to the subway stop down the block. The street had always been a busy one, and most of his grandfather's business came from the constant flow of traffic right out their front door.

"Come with me to the duel next week," Yami said, breaking the silence between the boys.

"You mean to Tokyo? That's a six hour trip," Yugi said, confused by the boy's sudden request. "And, I have class on Friday. You know that."

"Skip it," Yami said. His voice was hard, even detached, as he continued to stare out the window.

Yugi turned to face the older boy, hesitating. "I can't just skip," he said, "My grandfather has worked so hard for me to be able to go to university. I can't just ignore that by not showing up."

Yami was silent.

"What's this about?" Yugi said. "Are you nervous about the duel?" Yugi didn't know anything about being a world class duelist but, he'd guessed it was a pretty nerve wracking experience, especially holding the title Yami did. And, even though Yami was normally all confidence, every so often over the past few weeks Yugi had seen glimpses of the older boy's vulnerable side.

They had been brief snippets – the way his laughter cracked through his normally composed façade, the look he gave Yugi that made the rest of the world fall away, the way his voice gentled when he was on the phone with his mother, reminding Yugi of the young man that he still was. It was seeing this softer side of the duelist champion that made Yugi want to show him the softer side of him too, and the more they were together, the more Yugi could feel himself emerging from his own walls as the older boy came out from behind his own.

Yami turned from the window as Yugi stepped towards him. The older boy looked anxious and unsure, like he had those weeks ago in the park when Yugi had pushed away from him, and though Yami was several inches taller than him, he seemed small as he met the younger boy's eyes.

Yugi didn't like the anxiety that washed over him as he looked in Yami's eyes. It wasn't his own nerves he felt, it was the older boy's that flashed through his mind. It was like he was feelingYami's unease as if there was a direct link from Yami's brain to his, transmitting emotions like instant messages through cyberspace.

The older boy was tense about something, something out of his hands, and something sparked inside of Yugi as he felt the older boy's struggle. Yam's stress seemed to slither beneath his skin, making him itch to do anything to distract him.

That's when Yugi stood up on his toes and kissed him.

It had just been a quick peck on the lips. The younger boy hadn't even known what had possessed him to do it in the first place, but then Yami's hands were on his shoulders, drawing him closer, and Yugi's eyes closed, his thoughts slipping away.

Yami's lips moved against his, soft and firm, as one of his hands cupped the back of Yugi's neck. The older boy's tongue pressed against his lips, and Yugi opened for him, tasting him for the first time.

Electricity tingled under his skin, heat curling down his spine, and Yugi wondered how it was possible to feel so alive and so taken at the same time. He wound his arms around Yami's neck, deepening the kiss as he pressed himself against the older boy, his fingers tangling in Yami's hair.

It was like time had stopped around them and, the thought of card games and ancient puzzles seemed like a distant memory as Yami's fingers played down his back. Sparks danced under Yugi's skin as the older boy claimed his mouth, dark energy rolling through him like an old friend, heavy and possessive as it filled him.

The need for oxygen separated the two, and Yugi struggled for breath as he steadied himself. His head was spinning from the kiss, thoughts twisting into unintelligible fragments as he touched his lips, still warm from Yami's.

Yugi had kissed people before, but kissing Yami had felt like something else entirely. It was like if they'd stayed together just a little bit longer, he could have floated from his body, both minds twining together until it was impossible to tell whose thoughts were whose.

"Was that – okay?" Yugi asked. He wasn't sure what had inspired such a bold act but, he felt sheepish as he looked up at the older boy, coming down from the high.

"Yes, aibou," Yami said. His gaze was intense, and Yugi felt himself flushing. "That was more than okay."

"Okay," Yugi said, giving a small smile. He straightened his shirt, his heart still pounding in his chest. "We should probably get back to it," he said. His blush deepened. "To studying, I mean."

Yami nodded, following the younger boy back to the table. The two returned to their work, but Yugi's mind wondered the moment he opened his book again, his thoughts filled with the taste of Yami, the boy's fingers roaming his back, body flesh against his.

Yami looked up as if sensing his thoughts, smirking at him across the table. Yugi felt butterflies again, words spinning on the page, as Yami's leg pressed against his once more.

He was really going to have to start studying alone if he was going to make it through exams.

A/N: There is no Lightning Storm magic card in Duel Monsters that forces you to wait one turn before attacking, total artistic liberty by me.