Warning: There will be a fair amount of OOCness, particularly in this chapter :) I know it says Puzzleshipping in the description, but that will come later :) otherwise, the only other warning is yaoi, which you probably already guessed :) I'm not a solely yaoi girl; I like any story as long as its good. I just thought this story fit this pairing.

Ryou Bakura wasn't anyone special. In fact, the most defining feature of his character was that he was the image of completely normal; he had a relatively well-paid job, he was renting an apartment, he visited friends, and he had his hobbies. There was a pattern to his life, which he had been adhering to since he graduated Uni.

He was on his way down to the local newspaper office. He needed to advertise in the paper for a roommate.

This unsettled Ryou; he liked the life he lived, where he could be alone when he wanted, and in the company of others when he went out. The idea of sharing his apartment with a stranger was unappealing, and would limit his freedom.

He uttered a sigh. It was necessary, though; his current wage was in no way sparing, and it paid the rent, but if he was going to pay off his Uni debt any time soon, he needed more money to spare.

There was a tinkling bell that rang as he opened the door. Ryou smiled to himself; there should be more tinkling doors.

"Can I help you?"

Ryou jerked his attention back to the lady behind the desk and, smiling, made his way over. "Yes; I was wondering if I could put an ad in the paper. I need a roommate for my apartment. My rent's getting too-"

The woman's eyes suddenly sharpened. "Where is your apartment?"

Ryou frowned. "Oh- ah...not too far from here; about a ten minute walk. It-"

"What's it like?"

Ryou felt a little intimidated by the way she was grilling him, but continued. "It's a nice place; quite big. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, one study, a kitchen, a living room...and the rent's not too bad when split two-ways."

The woman suddenly grinned, a look of immense relief on her face. "I believe you may be in luck, sir; we had someone in here just an hour or two ago, looking at finding an apartment in this area."

Ryou blinked. He hadn't expected to find somebody this soon. "Oh, well that's...great."

"I can give you his contact details if you like; he left them with us." Without waiting for an answer, she produced a scrap of paper and handed it to Ryou. "You can keep it, if you like; it's all in the computer."

Ryou nodded his thanks, but his eyes had strayed to the paper. It held a single mobile phone number, and the word 'Yami'.

"That's it?" he asked. "Just 'Yami'?"

The woman nodded. "I'm afraid so; that's the only name he gave."

Ryou hesitated. "Well...thanks. I guess I'll call this guy, and if it doesn't work out, I'll get back to you."

The lady smiled. "Glad I could help."

Ryou tried the number on the way home. He was amazed to have a potential candidate so soon; he had expected it to be at least a week.

"Hello?"

Ryou jumped slightly. He had picked up after one ring.

"Um...hi. Is this 'Yami'? I got this number from the newspaper firm."

There was a pause. "Yes, it is. Thank you for calling."

"I think I may have an apartment that suits you; my name is Ryou, by the way; Ryou Bakura."

"It's nice to meet you, Ryou; I guess you already know my name is Yami."

"I may need a little more to go on than-"

"It's just 'Yami'. Like Cher."

Ryou paused. People actually did that? "Oh, I guess that's okay then...but about this apartment; I need someone to share it with. Preferably a non-smoker, and who doesn't make too much noise."

"That's perfect; I'll be doing most of my work by computer, but otherwise I'll be outdoors."

"What kind of work do you do?" Ryou asked.

"Basically anything that needs doing. So when can I come and see this place?"

Ryou considered that. "Any time today or tomorrow; I'm not working this weekend."

"That's just great; how about in half an hour?"

Ryou jumped. So soon? "Um...sure, why not?"

"Great; we'll talk over this more in person. What's the address?"

Ryou gave it to him, and after a few brief farewells, the mysterious 'Yami', hung up.

Ryou flipped his phone shut. What had he just gotten into?

Ryou's apartment was always immaculate; there was no last minute tidying to do before hid guest arrived. He wondered what he should be doing to prepare; after all, he had only met Yami on the phone for a few minutes.

He settled with simply waiting. He had just poured himself a glass of milk and added one of his strawberry milk-flavouring straws when there was a knock at the door.

Ryou hesitated before opening the door, wondering what to expect.

Pushing his worries aside, he pulled the door open.

'Yami' was everything that wasn't inconspicuous. He had wild spiky hair that fanned out on all directions atop his head like a gelled lion's mane. It was black, in fringed with purple. Blonde streaks lined each spike, and several blonde bangs framed his face, staring out of which was a pair of hard crimson eyes, staring straight at Ryou.

He was wearing a sleeveless black top and leather pants, with a long-sleeved blue shirt draped over his back like a cape. Ryou didn't need expertise to know that he was very fit, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous.

Ryou felt very inadequate, with his fluffy white hair and gentle brown eyes. For a moment, he could do nothing more than stare at Yami.

Ryou knew right then and there that he definitely wanted Yami moving in.

"Ryou Bakura, right?"

Several seconds had passed before Ryou actually registered that Yami was talking to him. "Oh – yes, I'm Ryou. It's...nice to meet you. You must be Yami."

Yami smiled winningly and invited himself inside. "It's quite a nice place here."

Ryou nodded hesitantly. "Mm-hmm. The spare room is down the end there." He pointed. "There's also a study if you need it; I just use it to store books and stuff. Um...why don't you sit down?" After pulling out one of the chairs, Ryou ran and retrieved his milk from the kitchen counter, suddenly feeling very childish to be drinking milk. Through a flavouring straw. He had never seen the problem of it until now.

Yami had sat at the table, but was looking around the room with hawk-like alertness. His head snapped around when Ryou entered again.

"You'd have to forgive me for being a bit antisocial; this place would basically be my 'base camp'...I have something important in the area I need to take care of."

"Like what?" Ryou asked, sipping at his straw and sitting across from Yami.

Yami froze. "Just...stuff." He suddenly laughed. A little too suddenly. "So I'll be out most of the time, or just shut up by myself. Don't take it personally. And you won't need to worry about me making a mess, or lots of noise, or anything like that. You'll hardly even notice I'm here."

Ryou was nodding. He didn't have a problem with that.

"So is there anything else I need to know?"

Ryou drank his milk thoughtfully. "The guy in the floor above us had a party every Saturday night. It's pretty noisy."

Yami grimaced. "Don't worry; I can take care of that. Anything else? What's that you're drinking?" he asked suddenly, noticing Ryou's straw.

Ryou frowned. "Oh, this?" He lifted out the straw to show him. "You put it in normal milk, and it flavours the milk on the way up." He paused. "It's pretty silly."

"Do you have any of the chocolate ones?"

"The chocolate ones? Yeah, I don't like those; they've been piling up for a while...they come in packets of five per flavour."

"Wow, that's weird; they're the only ones I like." Yami's face suddenly saddened. "I had...a friend. We always fought over those ones."

Ryou peered at him over the top of his glass, unsure of what to say. Had Yami's friend died? Should he ask? Was it something he wanted to talk about?

He tried to sound as though he hadn't picked up on it. "Wow...I don't think I've ever met anyone else who uses them. You can help yourself to as many as you want; you can even give some to your friend."

"We...haven't spoken in a while."

"Oh, I see." Ryou silenced himself, still as confused as ever. "I...I'm sorry." He bit his lip, hoping he hadn't upset Yami.

The heavy aura surrounding Yami suddenly lifted. "Don't worry; he's not dead or anything like that." He changed the subject. "So; parties on Saturdays, use of the study and chocolate straws. Anything else I should know?"

Ryou finished his milk and stood to take it back to the kitchen. "Rent's due every second Thursday."

"Then it's settled; I'll go get my things. See you tomorrow, Ryou!"

And before Ryou could say another word, he was up and out the door.

Ryou stared at the door handle for a moment, feeling somewhat in a daze. "What on Earth just happened?"