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[knifemonopoly]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 *** PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1> If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.

Main handle: < Player1 > Anon: < turtleluck >, < actuallydied >, < burner >

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[softspokenlandlord]

Well, you could always tell them on the network for brevity's sake. You have quite a few acquaintances, after all!

[More than just friends. Some are acquaintances, enemies, and everything in between. Ryou finds it so terribly amusing how much Atem can ingrain himself into people's lives. He's got a very bombastic nature, and whatever had happened before he met Ryou several years ago, it had cemented his faith in friendship to the point that he could look at the coldest, loneliest heart and find a way to try and make it better.

...Ryou doesn't linger on that too long, because he'd done quite enough of that on the way back home, and he still had to sort that mess of feelings out. Telling Atem about it is currently very much out of the question.

So, he goes back to what he'd bought, reaching one spindly index finger out to tip the balance of the bottle from one side to the other.]

So, ah. We haven't really had much time to discuss the past few weeks. But before I get busy making cakes, I want to tell you something.

[The vanilla settles back slowly, and Ryou keeps the tip of his clawed finger upon it even as he looks Atem in the eye.]

...Thank you. Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. You didn't have to believe me when I said we were classmates, nor did you have to believe it when I said we were friends. You trusted me probably more than I deserved, and you gave me a home. A-and you...you really went through so much trouble when I couldn't feel. I'm...sorry for the struggle I've caused you.

[knifemonopoly]

[The network? He supposes he could, but...that feels strangely impersonal for something like this. It feels a little like making a big announcement, and...while Atem's gotten over a significant amount of the social reclusivity that comes with being the part of another person who only comes out when there's trouble, he finds himself shying away from something like that. He'll think about it, but he's really not sure.

Then, Ryou pulls him out of his thoughts by going on, and...is Ryou right? Did he really do all that? It sounds like a lot, when Ryou puts it that way, but to Atem, it's been the kind of thing you do for a friend, especially one in crisis who needs support. Is...that the kind of person Atem is?

That's the kind of person he wants Atem to be.]

You haven't caused any trouble at all! This place is difficult, and sometimes we get hurt, but...helping each other when that happens is only right!

Of course I believed you. You're a person I can trust! You were the only person I could ask about my past, who I was sure would tell me the truth. And you reminded me that it's important to rest, too, if you want to be at your best when the next patch of trouble hits. Making good memories, to help you through the bad times...you can't do that by yourself!

So, I'm glad to have you as a friend, Ryou. You don't have to apologize for anything.

...

I don't want to talk about what happened right now, but...when the party's over, I've got an apology of my own to make.

[Because that hydra said some shit. Now's not the time to dredge it up, but...that should be addressed.]

[softspokenlandlord]

I will always have at least one more apology or gratitude for you, Atem. There's always at least one that I owe you.

[Which is entirely true, even though Ryou perhaps apologizes too much for his own good. He has a lot to be sorry for, almost all the time! Atem's really gone out of his way for Ryou's sake, after all. The roommate thing, sharing his friends and making Ryou feel like he belongs...

Honestly Ryou hadn't apologized and thanked his friend enough. But in the interest of keeping things positive, he's not going to belabor the point today! Which brings them to the next topic, which has Ryou's admittedly forced and practiced optimism for the day crack, just for a moment.]

We can talk about things later. Of course. It's going to be a lot to talk about.

[He reaches for a couple of the new cake pans, moving to the sink to wash them before he speaks again.]

I just...want to be happy for you and Yugi today, though. It will be good for all of us! He's who you've missed the most, isn't he? And although this is an unfavorable situation, we can't linger on it, right?

[The tough things can wait. Right now, Ryou's most interested in making this a great party for both his friends. He'd do absolutely anything to make Atem happy right now.

He would even move out right now, just so that Yugi could live here, if it made Atem happy. But he knows better than to lead with that when the small vampire is going through all the trouble to make sure Ryou knows he appreciates their friendship.]

[knifemonopoly]

[Always one more? Aw, come on, buddy, that's one game you don't want the highest score in! Don't try to beat him at it, that's no good.]

There's a time and a place for heavy conversation. The day of an important friend's arrival isn't it!

[So, they'll table it. Not for too long, but for now.]

Do you need anything? This looks like a lot...

[A lot of cake pans. A lot of ingredients. How tall is the cake Ryou is planning to make going to be...?]