Summary: Yuugi Mutou is a drug lord, a mover-and-shaker, a sweet face with an iron fist – and Atem will do anything to join this beautiful man on his journey to rule Domino. AU. Blindshipping.

Warnings: Minor character death, mentions of drug selling/drug rings, language, violence (gun usage, knife usage, and non-graphic descriptions of wounds and blood), gangs, NSFW dialogue. Always feel free to message for more information about any warning!

Chapters: 1/2

Constructive criticism is encouraged and appreciated!

A beautiful stranger knocks on his door at six in the morning. The stranger has cherry-red eyes, a backpack slung over one shoulder, and reeks of heavy cologne with the faintest hint of gunpowder.

The gears in Yuugi's mind haven't begun to kick in yet. He doesn't think of reaching for the pistol tucked away in the waistband of his star-patterned pajamas, but instead grips the box of Fruit Loops tight in his hands.

"Yo," the man says. "I'm Atem Tahan. I want to be your apprentice."

Yuugi misheard him. He must have. The little wheels in his brain have to be on the fritz because there's no way this man just offered what he did.

"Excuse me?" he says. It's croaked and cracks on the last syllable.

Atem smiles and moves his shoulders in a shrug. "I want to help you run this town."

He doesn't want to deal with this right now. Criminals come running the second they start smelling success around a gang – and the Spellcasters have been fruitful in their attempts of making it big. He's seen it before all the time. This was just another man who wants to steal his success when Yuugi is at his weakest.

The foreigner opens his mouth again, and maybe he talks, but Yuugi doesn't hear it. He shoves the box of Fruit Loops into Atem's hands and rips his hand back just as quick. There's blood caked under Yuugi's fingernails and his knuckles are just beginning to scab over. Maybe that's enough to scare away this wannabe drug dealer.

"There you go," Yuugi chirps. "Have fun, and don't get mugged on your way back home."

He shuts the door in Atem's face.

And then he almost shoots Atem in the face.

It starts at the Spellcasters's Headquarters – which every criminal from the wannabes to the dirty CEOs will guide you to. It's a small office building located about half of a mile from Burger World. Take a right, and you won't miss it.

Everyone knows this because Yuugi taught them that no one should fuck with his crew. Anyone who does is, well, stupid.

Atem is pretty fucking stupid, Yuugi decides, as he looks up from his work to see the man leaning against the doorway. The darker-skinned man gives a bright smile and waves when Yuugi notices him.

"No," is the first word that escapes Yuugi's lips.

The man shrugs at his protest and enters his office anyways. He finds refuge on one of the sofas Yuugi bought for the other Spellcasters to rest on during meetings and breaks. It's not meant for wannabe drug dealers, but Atem seems to ignore that.

"How are you?" Atem asks.

Yuugi doesn't respond. He turns back to the paperwork strewed across his desk. There's big deals going down, and the drug lord is smack-dab in the middle of it all. He's going to stick his thumbs in as many pies as he can get, make some powerful friends, and blossom his drug ring in his little hometown. Yuugi has to focus on this and not on the beautiful stranger reaching into his backpack for-

A gun. A knife. A weapon. Atem decided he wasn't going to play around and try to win Yuugi over. He's going to try to put the leader down in his own goddamn office inside his own goddamn headquarters. Yuugi won't let that happen. He's faster, and he knows this. His fingers rip the pistol free from its holster, aims, and his thumb rips the safety back with a click.

Atem pauses with the box of Fruit Loops held in his hands. Yuugi gave it to him, like, three days ago – and Atem kept it?

"Sorry. Is there a rule against eating on the couch? I can sit on the floor," Atem says as he stares down the barrel of the gun without a mere flinch.

Yuugi doesn't know whether to laugh or begin pulling his hair out because he almost killed a man over a box of Fruit Loops, and the man didn't even react to it.

"There's a rule against strangers being in my office," Yuugi says, though he returns the gun to its holster.

Atem gives a sound of pure indifference in response. A dark-skinned hand dives into the box and digs out a handful of colorful cereal.

"You're not going to be a Spellcaster," Yuugi states.

Atem shoves the handful into his mouth and smacks his gums. He's smirking while he does, Yuugi's pretty certain.

"Fine. What if I give you a sidewalk job for a couple weeks?" he tries. "I'll pay you in cash right away, you can get yourself a goddamn decent pair of shoes, and then you can get out of my life. That's all I can – and will – do."

Atem pauses, almost considering, and Yuugi breathes a sigh of relief. Just a bit of money and dealing with the idea of this stranger holding onto his drugs, and he'll get some peace once-

Atem dives his hand back in the box and shovels another handful into his mouth. The groan that leaves Yuugi's lips in response doesn't sound much human.

"What do you even want to be?" Yuugi gripes. "My lackey?"
There's a slight pause between Atem's lip-smacking, and he swallows the cereal. His shoulders move in a shrug once again.

"Apprentice. Lackey. Sidekick. Paparazzi," Atem says with a shrug. "Whatever."

The answer only leaves Yuugi with more questions that burn his tongue. He runs his fingers through his hair and allows one question to escape.

"Why?"

It's almost too vague of a question. There's a lot of answers to it, Yuugi guesses, from I'm fucking crazy and I'm probably going to try to steal your gang when you turn your back. There is no other way this gorgeous stranger would sign himself off to such a life. Not with his gentle eyes and soft voice.

"You're beautiful, and your plans to take over Domino are beautiful," Atem states. He says it as if he's telling Yuugi that ice-cream comes in chocolate. "Why should I try and fight it?"

(Yuugi's heart thumps.)

It doesn't. It also doesn't speed up from the pretty words. It's speeding up from the frustration coursing through his veins.

"Because I might kill you and drop your dead body on the side of the road?" he tries. It's supposed to sound threatening. It doesn't.

Atem throws his head back and cackles. His entire body quakes as he shoves the box of Fruit Loops back into his backpack.

"Nah," Atem retorts. "You can't kill your sidekick."
Yuugi's eyes widen. Nope. Nope. Nope. He didn't sign up for this. He didn't sign up for the handsome Atem to attach himself to Yuugi like a leech.

"You are not my sidekick," Yuugi says.

"What are we doing today, boss?" Atem replies.

The man pushes himself up off the couch and pads over to Yuugi. He moves behind the gangster and leans in to read what he's being scribbling down on the map. Atem's breath ghosts over Yuugi's neck and creates goosebumps in its wake.

"Oh, my god."

Atem departs an hour later, and he leaves behind a migraine for the drug lord who can't shoot handsome men.

Yuugi rests his arms on his desk and buries his face in them. It will help kill the warmth in the sides of his face (it's from the summer heat, he says) and the thoughts of Atem's hand ghosting across his hand as he judged Yuugi's work.

He hears the soft rustling as another person enters his room and settles down. He peeks out and sees blonde hair and lips painted with perfect precision. He spots nails that are manicured to perfection holding a clipboard and black pen.

"Hey, honey," Mai greets as she looks up from her work. She frowns at her boss. "You okay?"

Yuugi takes a breath deep enough to fill his lungs and he lets it go in a slow decline. His head moves away from his arms and instead he collapses back into his chair. Atem stole all the energy out of him like a bloodsucker. Now, all the man needs is a nap and perhaps a burger.

"Why did you let that guy in?" he says as he drags a hand across his face.

Mai frowns harsh enough to make the lipstick bleed into the corners of her mouth. Her nails now rapt against the clipboard. "Guy?"

Yuugi – a gangster with steel in the marrow of his bones – can feel his heart stutter to a stop in his chest.

Mai Kujaku is his secretary and his right hand. She's stationed right outside his doorway for fuck's sake. Her main goal is to make sure no strangers walk into that office without an appointment.

(And, if they don't, she breaks their wrists and tells them to make an appointment next time.)

"Yeah," Yuugi stutters. "He looks a lot like me, but not. He's like an inch taller, red eyes, and he's wearing way too much fucking cologne."

Her eyebrows knit together in response and she opens her mouth to respond, but it becomes lost on her tongue. Yuugi rendered Mai speechless – and he's sure that's about as rare as a shooting star. His next breath catches in his throat.

"Are you hitting your own stash, Yuugi?" she asks.

Mai Kujaku – the woman who once burned down a rival gang's headquarters with only a drugstore lighter – didn't see a freakish copy of Yuugi walk into his own office. The watchdog of their group, the mother hen in wolf's clothing, didn't see Atem at all.

Yuugi's first thought revolves around how the hell Atem pulled it off, the second focused on whether Atem would use it to put a bullet through Yuugi's head.

(Maybe he should have killed Atem. He does miss his Fruit Loops.)

Atem doesn't go away, but he also doesn't try to kill Yuugi. Yet.

The man gets to Yuugi's car after work every day before Yuugi can lock it. Atem doesn't like silence much, so he talks about his homeland and asks Yuugi if he's seen the pyramids. He digs CDs out of his backpack and plays them when he can't think of much else to say. He likes everything from pop sung by high-pitched Japanese girls to heavy metal with American men screaming into the microphones. Yuugi decides this is weird, but hums along to the songs anyways.

Yuugi gets home, and Atem leaves with a smile to go to wherever the hell he lives. The foreigner comes back next morning and leans against Yuugi's car until the leader is ready to go. Yuugi stopped trying to lock the car in time a long time ago. There's no point in fighting that anymore.

Yuugi fights it instead by his radio silence. He replies to Atem's constant questions and remarks with grunts and shrugs. This will have to bore Atem eventually. He'll get lost to bother another drug lord in another town once he realizes Yuugi isn't anything interesting.

And it's all fine until Atem starts talking about games.

"Fuck you," Yuugi says, and it's the first thing he's said to Atem since the day the man came into his office. "Mortal Kombat is a great game."

He keeps his eyes on the road because he doesn't want to watch Atem freeze in surprise. He doesn't want to watch that slow smile spread across Atem's lips, and he doesn't want to watch the joy that lights up those cherry-red eyes.

"No, it's not!" Atem retorts. "Everyone always picks the same character, and then they just jam one button until they win. That's, like, the entire game."

"Losers do that," Yuugi drawls. "You've been playing the game with awful people."

"No, the game is just boring."

"Oh? What, are you a chess and Legend of Zelda fan?"

Atem's chest puffs up at this, and Yuugi bites his lip to hold in the chuckles that rest on his tongue. He's just engaging in a short conversation – and that's that. He won't grant the man his laughter. It would be like feeding a stray because strays always come back after you give them what they want.

"Legend of Zelda is a great series," Atem argues. "And I love chess. I've been playing both since I was a kid."

Atem's odd music tastes fill up the car again as Yuugi falls into silence. He's too busy biting his lip and trying to stifle the laughter that wants to come out. The other man notices this and looks at him with a frown. Yuugi glances over to see realization slap Atem across the face just in time.

"You don't like chess?" Atem says, but it comes out as more of a cry. "Or Legend of Zelda?"

Oh, boy. This is getting harder. Yuugi takes a deep breath to cool himself and finally gives Atem a wicked grin. His hands have taken on autopilot at this point to ensure he'll get home in some reasonable manner.

"They're boring," he replies.

The shock on Atem's face is too much. Laughter pours from his lips before he can stop it, and his shoulders begin to bounce from it. Atem feigns hurt and places a hand over his heart in return.

"I don't think I can be your sidekick anymore," Atem says. "Pull over and drop me off here. I'll go find a new drug lord who will play chess with me."

Yuugi turns his gaze back to the road, and raises an eyebrow at it. The laughter finally dies on his lips as he focuses on getting home.

"Well, you're not my sidekick, so it all works out. I'll give you some numbers for some drug lords I know."

Yuugi can't keep the silence after that statement for long. Once glance at Atem is enough for him to break down into chuckles once again. His own laughter is complimented by Atem's own not too long after. Yuugi pulls into his driveway, but doesn't jump out at the first chance he gets.

"Do you at least like Duel Monsters?" Atem asks.

It's a rhetorical question, Yuugi realizes, as he watches that stupid smirk take over Atem's lips once again. Yuugi rolls his eyes as his own stupid smile refuses to fade.

"No," he remarks. "I hate Duel Monsters. I would never name my gang after them."

Yuugi slides out of his car, and Atem follows his tracks. He finds the man's gaze on him again after he shuts the door, and he raises an eyebrow in response. They can barely see each other over the roof of the car. He can only see Atem's eyes and hair smoothed back into a bun.

"I bet you suck at it."

Yuugi blinks, and he blinks again as he adjusts himself to see Atem a bit better. They stand with only the hood of the car now separating them, and Atem has his arms crossed over his chest with a gleam in his eyes.

"My name is Yuugi Mutou. Do you realize who I was when I was, like, eighteen?"

"Exactly!"Atem cries. "You have to suck at it now."

A challenge. Yuugi has learned to reject and ignore many things – especially in his line of work – but the man has never been able to resist a challenge. Dares. Games. Adventures. You challenge him, and he's there.

He's going to be doing more than giving the stray a little bowl of food. He's going to be giving the stray a full-course buffet complete with dessert. Yuugi will be letting this man – this kinda-sorta stranger into his home.

But, he can't say no to the challenge. He still has that dumb title for all he knows.

"Come on," Yuugi says as he rounds the car. He grabs Atem by the wrist and pulls him off without too much protest. "Get inside my house so I can kick your ass. You've better have brought your deck."

And that's how Atem played a card game meant for children inside a drug lord's house.

Atem has some bad habits, and one of them is not eating lunch. The stupid man won't bring his own lunch or go out and buy one. He'll be too busy fixing Yuugi's filing system ("It's not that bad."), or cleaning Yuugi's guns ("I never told you to do that.") to go out and eat.

Yuugi grows accustomed to bringing enough food for two. The last thing he needs is a beautiful man passing out in his office. That's the only reason why.

He enters the break room and slaps Jounouchi's feet off the table as he walks by. The blond groans in response, but lowers his steel-toed boots to the floor.

"Hello to you to, buddy," Jounouchi says.

Yuugi looks over his shoulder and gives his friend a grin. "I could have gotten Anzu. You better be grateful."

Jounouchi pales in response and slams his fist against his own chest to clear his throat. Yuugi turns back to his work and peels the film off the two containers of microwavable mac-and-cheese.

"So," Jounouchi begins. "You have a partner now? What happened to me being your right hand man?"

(Once upon a time, Jounouchi was a man trapped in a girl's body. His girl body had ripped hangnails, bloody knuckles, and hair that he cut with drugstore scissors. Jounouchi never wore skirts and instead opted for the jeans he stole from his father. He whispered in Yuugi's ear at the tender age of thirteen that he was born in the wrong body. Yuugi held his hands tight and began to call Jounouchi a boy.

It never became official for a long time. Jounouchi was trapped in the wrong body through high school, graduation, Yuugi's phase, and the birth of the Spellcasters. Yuugi still went out and bought pants that fit his best friend, took him to barbers who didn't blink at Jounouchi's request for the guy cut, and read as many internet articles as he could to understand his best friend.

Jounouchi made it official one day when he walked into a meeting twenty minutes late and said he was Not a Girl. The other Spellcasters couldn't keep the smiles off their faces.)

Jounouchi's voice is light and full of mirth as he gives Yuugi a sideways glance. The boss sighs when he looks over again and finds the man's feet have returned to the table. Jounouchi shrugs at him. Yuugi sticks his tongue out.

"God," he says as he digs out the metallic pouches in the containers before turning to the tap. "He wouldn't leave even if I gave him a million bucks."

"Would you want him to?"

Yuugi freezes. Water dribbles over the containers and wet his fingers. He grumbles as he remedies it, and pretends he doesn't hear the soft laughter behind him.

"Well, I think you should keep him," the blond says. "It's like the Joker having a sidekick."

Yuugi bristles and looks over his shoulder to try to throw a glare at his friend. Jounouchi gives him a grin in response. The blond doesn't feel shame for anything that comes out of his mouth. Yuugi learned this a long time ago throughout their many adventures.

"He is not my sidekick."

"Partner?"

"No."

"Boyfriend?"

Yuugi goes silent and tosses the containers into the microwave. The sound of the machine isn't enough to drown out the laughter coming from the other side of the room.

Atem has too soft eyes and too soft of a touch. His voice is always gentle with opinions blunt but voiced just so. His hair always smoothed back into the perfect bun and nails clean of blood caked under them.

Yuugi can't see him as a gangster – as a Spellcaster. He can't wrap his mind around why a beautiful man such as Atem would sign himself off to such a life. Yuugi was fine, of course, as was his friends. They agreed to the life of crime a long time ago.

Atem hadn't agreed yet. The man still has a chance to walk away and only remember a weird lookalike with scarred hands.

Atem and Yuugi's game nights become more common, and so resisting the question becomes harder and harder. It rests on his lips and stains the words he speaks. Yuugi should just spit it out. It might get rid of the handsome man.

(It might get rid of Atem. It might be enough to ruin what is happening between them – whatever is happening between them. Yuugi can't let the question out. He can't.)

He keeps it down while Atem digs out a chessboard. Yuugi gripes and whines, but helps him set up the board the best to his knowledge. They dig through the red-and-black checker pieces and trade their little plastic pieces until both sides are set up.

He keeps it down while he moves his pieces haphazardly. Atem hums and pauses at every term and considers every single move he makes. Yuugi can't help but to watch the gorgeous man who has no idea what he's getting into.

"You realize I'm not a good guy, right?"

The question came out. Yuugi slaps a hand over his mouth as soon as it leaves his lips, and he lets out a sigh from the bottom of his lungs. Atem blinks at him and pauses from putting his queen down right where Yuugi's knight can capture it.

"What?"

Well, fuck. Yuugi might as well spit it out now. He's already destroyed this relationship at this point. He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. His fingers catch near the end and he tugs at the strands.

"You realize I'm not a good guy, right?" Yuugi repeats. "I don't right the wrongs. I don't help battered women, save cats from trees, or do charity drives for cancer. I don't kill the bad guy at the end of the book. I'm the bad guy who gets killed."

This is it. This is Atem's hallelujah moment. This is where he looks Yuugi in his eyes and realizes he's made a big mistake. He'll leave and get a nine-to-five job, a wife, and two kids. He'll have a successful job and scorn Yuugi for wasting so much of his time. He'll remember Yuugi as the drug lord with blood and cocaine on his hands – nothing more and nothing less.

Atem blinks for a long moment. Yuugi can't bring himself to look anymore as he dives his gaze down at his hands. He keeps his breathing normal and almost too slow. Calm. He just needs to stay calm until Atem leaves. He can do that. He can.

"Let's die together then."

Yuugi's head snaps up. Atem sports a wicked grin and he moves his shoulders in a shrug when Yuugi raises an eyebrow. The leader opens his mouth to protest-

Atem puts his queen down in a different spot, and he checkmates Yuugi's king.

Yuugi's wrong, and Atem knows this.

He sees it first hand when a man stumbles into Yuugi's office. He's tall, dark-haired, and blood gushes down his arm.

Yuugi is up in an instant with a gasp of the man's name. He takes the uninjured arm and guides him over to one of the couches. The man tries to protest, but when Yuugi leans up and presses his hands on the man's shoulders, he sits.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," Honda gasps out. "I would have been fucked up a lot worse if I didn't get the fuck out of there."

Yuugi moves, and it's almost too fast for Atem to comprehend. He speaks to Mai with words that Atem can't register in time, and before he can open his mouth, Yuugi is beside Honda once again. The drug lord takes Honda's hand of his uninjured arm and holds it tight.

Atem turns his gaze when another set of people enter the door. Mai leads another woman who looks much like him with her dark skin and hair. She wears gold bands on her wrists and neck, and her boots look as if they could crush a skull with the smallest step.

"Ishizu," Yuugi breathes. "Honda got shot. The bullet is still in there."

The woman nods, takes her place beside the man, and puts the medical kit beside her. She judges the would with a soft sound before popping open her kit. Atem lets out a breath when he sees the tweezers in her hand.

The other Spellcasters begin to pour in as Ishizu works. The blond man with wicked grins comes in first and leans against the wall beside Mai, a dark-haired woman with bags under her blue bags next, then a man with his white hair stuffed into a ponytail, a man with exaggerated eyeliner down the side of his face, and finally another man with dark skin and scars on his face who towers over them all.

The Spellcasters. Atem never thought he'd see them all in person.

Yuugi doesn't see them. His lips are thin in a tight frown, and his gaze stays focused on his friend. Honda grips Yuugi's hand so tight that his skin turns white, but Yuugi doesn't speak up about it. He instead encourages Honda with soft words.

"I went on that deal," Honda begins. He pauses to dig his teeth in his lip for just a second before letting it out in a rushed breath. "The one dude who wanted to set us up with some guys in Domino Pier so we can ship drugs without being caught, you know?"

Yuugi's frown only worsens at this and his head tilts. The other Spellcasters shift back and forth on their feet, eyes focused on the two in front of them.

"Honda, I was-"

"Going to take care of them after we got some cooks, I know," Honda replies. "I just wanted to do some shit so we can make it big."

Yuugi pauses at his words before raising an eyebrow. Honda pauses at his words and flubs to try to correct his mistake. Yuugi doesn't allow it.

"You went alone?"

Honda shoots Yuugi a sheepish smile. The worry on Yuugi's face outweighs his anger as he gives a sigh. He squeezes the man's hand to urge him to continue.

"It was a trap for you. The guy wanted to only talk to you, and when I told him it was me or he can fuck off, he pulled out a gun and tried to kill me. He's a fucking terrible shot."

Yuugi lets out a slow sigh. He's pulled between controlled anger and confusion. Assassins can range from disgruntled clients to envious gangsters who want what Yuugi already has. Atem can only assume that Yuugi has an entire novel of people who want to kill him to take his drug lord status. Atem will have to remind himself to take care of those people later.

"Do you have any idea who he is?" Yuugi asks.

"The guy? No," Honda replies. "But he had, like, one tattoo of a big white snake on his hand."

Yuugi frowns at this and his eyebrows knit together in thought. His brain is whirling with possible gangs that he hasn't wiped out.

"There's only one or two bigger gangs left," Yuugi says. "All I can think of are the Diabounds."

Atem knows the basic details of this group. They're not big as the Spellcasters, but they're doing their best to copy them. They haven't taken the credit for any crime as of late. Have they been planning?

"I guess. They're upset we're about to push them off the map. They're gonna try to die fighting," Honda answers.

Ishizu took out the bullet minutes ago and focuses on cleaning up the wound. She's rather quiet. The barest of rustling comes from her as she prepares a needle and thread. Honda takes one glance at it before snapping his gaze towards Yuugi. The other tightens his grip in response.

"Don't worry," Yuugi says. "I won't let this happen to you or anyone else again. We'll take care of that gang."

Honda smiles.

"But if you ever go on your own again, I will beat you up."

"Go ahead," Honda snorts. "I remember high school."

Yuugi raises an eyebrow, but keeps a hold on Honda's hand as the stitching and cleaning begins. The others butt in now and gather around the two. They whisper and talk and laugh and shout. Atem puts the names to the faces and memorizes every single one. He stays on the other side of the room and watches without speaking up. Yuugi hasn't accepted him as a Spellcaster yet – and he won't encroach on territory that Yuugi doesn't think he is worthy of.

The procedure wraps up, and Yuugi shoots Honda a grin before dragging him out the door. Atem catches the details of the conversation. Yuugi's taking Honda out for a shake and burger at Burger World because he's definitely earned it at this point. Atem can't help but chuckle at that.

Yuugi is a good guy in his own rights. Other drug lords would have reacted to a dealer bleeding all over their white carpets and couch in a different way. He has kindness for his friends and those working underneath him – a kind of softness that not even this business could kill. He might not be a Robin Hood, but Atem knows Yuugi would do anything for a friend.

It makes him love Yuugi even more.

"Your mom?" Atem asks.

It's two in the morning, and they're driving around Domino with no real destination. Yuugi's discovered that Atem has insomnia that's nasty to the point where it deserves pills. Atem shrugs when Yuugi says this, and he asks if Yuugi can drive him around at night instead. Yuugi can't find it in his heart to say no.

He's stopped questioning Atem for following him around. It's because of the rival gang, he tells himself. He could use some extra muscle, he tells himself, but only for this.

Yuugi chuckles. "In America somewhere. She's writing novels about werewolves and vampires getting it off in PG-13 format."

"Dad?"

"Fucking some woman somewhere. He left for a business trip when I was three. He sent my mama an e-mail two weeks later and tells her he's not coming back, or paying child support. Mama couldn't take it, I guess."

Atem can tell the family tree is dwindling, and his frown is growing worse with every response. His next question is weak, almost hopeful.

"Anyone else?"

Yuugi pauses. The car slows for just a moment before it regains its speed, and his hands loosen their death grip on the wheel.

"Grandpa. The only guy who decided he wasn't going to leave a kid alone. He died a couple years ago in Egypt while on an excavation. He was old as hell and didn't believe he could get heatstroke."

His words are casual, but he pauses between his words to swallow and flex his fingers on the wheel. Atem reaches out and places a hand on his thigh. Yuugi doesn't shake it off.

"I decided to bury him in Egypt. That was, like, his favorite place. He loved Domino, don't get me wrong. He had a little shop not too far from HQ that sold games. I still own it. I couldn't handle the idea of some criminals buying it and using it as a base."

"Your grandpa was a pacifist?" Atem asks.

Yuugi laughs, and it's one of the biggest laughs Atem has ever seen the man give. His shoulders shake and chest bounces. He has to press on the break to avoid driving them off the side of the road.

"Atem," he says. "That guy was from a novel. He had a fucking fedora and went on his adventures with a cigar in his mouth. He has so many stories of saving artifacts from the tombs."

"Indiana Jones," Atem coos, and it sets off another whirl of laughter.

"My grandpa is the inspiration for Indiana Jones. He really did try to save, like, every fucking artifact he could." Yuugi says between his laughter.

"This belongs in a museum!" Atem cries.

Yuugi feels this weight on his shoulders leave because while he loves his friends, he couldn't find a way to talk about grandpa around them. They were always there to listen. They were always willing to hold onto him when he cried and when he thought about grandpa too much, but it was so nice to tell someone about him and remember the good times.

(It feels so nice to open up for once and let someone new hear about his life.)

"Mom?" Yuugi prompts once the laughter dies down.

"Died when I was five. I can't remember too much besides that she loved to sing and dance."

That doesn't surprise him. Atem's odd music drifts into Yuugi's house now. His boombox spits out Japanese rap and American country at odd hours of the night. The neighbors must think Yuugi's insane if they haven't thought so before.

"Dad?"

Yuugi doesn't get a response to that one right away. Atem falls silent and his gaze turns to the window. The leader frowns, but doesn't push because he's never been one to pry into lives.

(It bothers him how much he wants to know. There is this burning feeling in his heart to know everything about Atem. Yuugi wants to know about the man's likes and dislikes to his favorite animal. He wants to know Atem's favorite color, and if the man actually wants something more from Yuugi.)

"He is, you know, the leader of the biggest gang in Egypt."

It comes out quick and blunt to the point where Yuugi almost misses it. The words register in his mind and he slams the break. It almost causes a five car pile-up, but it doesn't matter because he's staring at Atem with wide eyes and a gaped mouth.

"Your dad is the leader of the fucking Millenniums?"

Atem grins and raises his hands in a shrug. "Surprise?"

Oh, it's a fucking surprise alright. Yuugi can't see it. He can't see the bright, beautiful Atem following the footsteps of his father. He can't see him taking names for money and drugs – nothing more and nothing less.

"How did your mom die exactly?" Yuugi presses.

"They were partners. She took a bullet for him."

Yuugi moves his car now because he's really sick of the cars honking at him and drivers flipping him off. He picks up speed once again and rounds another corner to get away from the riot. Once they're on a quiet road again, the surprised anger dies and leaves only a soft laugh.

"I would have liked you a lot better if you told me this the first time I met you," he says.

"Nah. You would have just slammed the door in my face."

"I did slam the door in your face,"

"But you also gave me Fruit Loops," Atem reminds.

Yuugi shrugs and nods. He fed the stray right at the very beginning, the boss realizes. Atem took the Fruit Loops and dedicated himself to Yuugi. Silence fills up the car again as Yuugi begins to head for home. Atem is staying another night again. There's no way he's letting the man walk home this late – wherever Atem lives.

(He has a spot on the couch that Yuugi doesn't bother cleaning up every day. It's become so commonplace for Atem to stay the night and sleep under the extra comforter Yuugi had. It's so bad to the point where Yuugi caught himself searching the internet for a futon. His CDs linger in Yuugi's house and play in his radio even when Atem isn't there. Yuugi gave Atem his number in a moment of stupidity and now has to entertain Atem every now and again with text messages.)

"So, now that you do know, does this mean I'm your sidekick?" Atem questions.

Yuugi raises an eyebrow at the road because he's used up all his luck at this point. If he turns his head now to look at his beautiful stranger/friend/whatever in the eye, he'll definitely go off the side of the road and kill them both.

"No. You're not my sidekick."

"How about partner? You can be my Aibou," Atem replies. His thumb moves across Yuugi's thigh in calm and gentle motions. It makes Yuugi's stomach flip.

Yuugi snorts though it comes out weak. "And what are you to me?"

"Whatever you want me to be."

That hand on his thigh is growing warm now. Yuugi doesn't blush because he's a goddamn drug lord and a man. He's warm because it's the middle of the summer and for some reason the AC is not blowing cool enough.

"You look too much like me," Yuugi mutters. "How about Other Me?"

Atem chuckles, and he gives that wicked grin that Yuugi can't help but to look over and see. He doesn't drive off the side of the road because there's no way he's going to kill this man now.

"I like it, Aibou."

Yuugi decides right then he is so fucked.