According to my little calendar, March 18th is National Awkward Moments Day. Fitting for this little grouping.

Bakura had once again vanished for the remainder of the day, leaving Atem the rest of the evening to himself. He wandered between rooms as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do.

He started with the art studio, where he stared at the blank canvas for an unknown period of time before giving up and wandering to the living area. Once there, he turned on the miniature-wall sized television, flicked through a few shows, then turned it off with a sigh. Filling free time was a chore it seemed.

Out of sheer boredom, he decided to scour through the book titles that lined one of the walls. He pulled out a few, looked over their description, then put them back and continued searching. He was just about to give up when he pulled one out that appeared to be a bit of a different genre from all the rest. After a quick look over the summary, he decided to give it a shot. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do.

He curled up on the sofa, quickly losing himself in the pages.

Morning light peeked through the curtains, provoking a groan from Atem as he pulled the covers over his head.

He'd taken a break from reading long enough to go to his room and get changed for the night, then resumed where he'd left off. He didn't look to see what time it was when he discovered that at some point he'd dozed off, deciding then it would probably be a good idea to put the book aside and officially call it a night.

Now that he was awake (a relative term at best), the call of nature decided it would be a good idea to present itself. He groaned again. There were several factors to being alive that Atem wished he could have done without…having to get up because his bladder demanded it was one of them.

After taking care of that particular nuisance, Atem decided he might as well start getting ready for the day. To be honest, he wasn't certain what he planned to do. He didn't have to go to Kaiba Corp, and that he knew of, he didn't have anywhere else to be.

He looked towards the nightstand where the book he'd been reading still lay unfinished. It was then that he realized he could just stay locked in his room all day and just read if he chose to. Or he could go for a walk. He could do anything. The things he always wished he could have done as Pharaoh on days when his schedule was full…he could just…do. He didn't have to shuffle things around or delegate them to someone else. He could just…do nothing if he chose to. He didn't even need a reason.

Atem looked down at his pajama pants, smiling a little as he decided that he was already comfortable and that he wasn't going to get dressed for the day. Just like he wasn't going to fix his hair or put on his kohl. Instead, he decided he was going to get a cup of coffee, return to his room, and bury his nose in the book until he decided otherwise.

As the water boiled, Atem found himself wishing he had some of Bakura's music to listen to. Maybe he'd dare to ask the thief to help him set up a playlist later.

He followed the very-detailed instructions on how to prepare the coffee.

Bakura had placed a series of laminated cards in a drawer to help Atem become 'self-sufficient'. It included things like how to use the french-press coffee maker (with a note on the back stating 'If you dare to bring one of those K-cup monstrosities into MY kitchen, I'll make certain you die a slow and agonizing death'), how to use the microwave, where things were located throughout the kitchen, and so forth.

Once the coffee was ready and poured, he began making his way back to his room. He stopped mid-sip and mid-step as he passed through the living area, seeing two nearly-identical faces staring at him in confusion.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you didn't get the memo," Imhotep said awkwardly.

Atem lowered his mug. "Obviously not. What are you two doing here?"

Bakura attacked him from behind, slinging an arm around his shoulder as if they were old friends. "Oh yeah, forgot to mention: The kids are stopping by!"

Atem irritably shrugged off the elemental's arm. "This would have been nice to know yesterday."

"We can stop by some other time if you already have plans," Yugi said uncomfortably.

Atem closed his eyes while rubbing the space above his brow. "No. No plans." He looked back over at the two as he lowered his hand. "If I had known you'd be stopping by, I would have already been awake and ready for your arrival."

Bakura placed an elbow on his shoulder and leaned on him. "What his Majesty means is that he's embarrassed to be seen like this. Personally, I don't see the issue. He looks just fine to me."

Atem reached over and dumped his coffee over the elemental's head.

Bakura immediately withdrew, instinctively putting his hands over where the coffee had landed.

"FUCKFUCKFUCK! THAT'S HOT!"

Atem smiled slightly in amusement. "And here I thought maybe I hadn't heated the water enough. Thank you for confirming that it was just the right temperature."

Bakura clenched his jaw, glaring at Atem with an aura of murderous rage.

Atem ignored him, setting the now empty mug on a nearby end table and walking away to get dressed.

I know Atem seems a bit ooc with the whole coffee over head bit, but it's been a long week and he's not having any of Bakura's shit right now. Plus it made for a good laugh and it's fun to have Atem being a little shit for a change.