Wow. A second chapter in only one day. I amaze myself! anyway, I hope you like this one momo-chan. sorry there's not more of Avia, but that will be changing soon.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's characters. I also do not own Avia or Pax.

The wafting smell of food was what pulled Akefia out of his slumber. His eyes slowly blinked open, his vision a bit blurry. Rubbing his eyes, he found himself back to lying on his back. Pulling himself up into a sitting position, turning his head to see Marik in his boxers already up, sitting at the island counter with a mug of what seemed to be coffee, while Celeste was busy making over something over the stove. The smell told him it was bacon she was making.

The sound of the floorboards creaking alerted her to his presence and she looked away from the sizzling strips of bacon, smiling. "I was wondering when you'd be up. I'm making bacon, if you'd like any." He nodded silently, climbing atop another bar stool. "Yeah, bacon sounds good." He was really hungry. Fleeing for your life and having not eaten since yesterday afternoon made for quite an unhappy stomach, which proceeded to growl loudly much to his embarrassment. Marik laughed, almost spitting out his coffee before his stomach made the same sound. Now it was his turn to laugh.

Marik scowled, then smiled good naturedly, a rare thing for him. "Seems like you're not the only one who could use some food." Celeste shook her head, finding these two oddly endearing. Then, it hit her like a brick wall that doesn't move out of the way when you're walking. "I'm sorry, but I never caught your names." They both came out of their shared humor, looking over at her. Marik answered for them. "My name's Marik and fluffy hair here is Akefia." This earned him a shove from Akefia and it was miraculous that he didn't fall off the stool. "Don't call me fluffy, artichoke head. You're not that normal yourself either." They continued bickering while Celeste shook her head and went back to making the bacon.

Five minutes later, the bacon was on a plate on the counter, but not much was left since the both of them were scarfing down every last bit. Celeste stood watching them, not able to keep a smile from coming to her face. "You two eat like starving men! Chew your food before shoving another down. I really don't want to have to give either of you mouth-to-mouth, considering I don't know you that well."

In that instant, she realized what that statement had entailed when both men looked up, each sharing quite perverse grins. Swallowing the bite he had in his mouth, Akefia's eyes became half lidded and he rested his head in his left hand. "Considering the other things you do with men you don't know, I'm surprised you'd be squeamish about giving us that." Her head drooped a little, eyes narrowing in sadness and he instantly realized that had not been a smart move. "I guess that's true." Letting out a deep sigh, she saw that the glass she had in her hand was empty of the milk she had been drinking and turned around, heading to the fridge to refill it. While her back was turned, Marik shot him a small glare and took a sip of his coffee, muttering quietly so that only he could hear "Smooth move, Casanova." before tilting the cup back for another drink.

He scowled, and then stopped, knowing his friend was right. Until they were sure that those goons were less occupied with finding them, this was where they would be hiding out and upsetting her or her roommate was not a smart move. When she had returned from the fridge, glass full, and went back to leaning on the counter facing them, Akefia pushed his plate that still had three uneaten pieces of bacon towards her, earning him a look of slight confusion mixed with surprise. "Here. You haven't eaten anything."

He was surprised when she giggled, a cute, feminine sound, and pushed the plate back to him. "It's okay Akefia…" His name rolled of her tongue beautifully, making him actually shudder slightly, but it went unnoticed by her. "I don't eat bacon, so please, eat up."

Taking his plate back, he continued to eat, but much more subdued now, taking time to cut each piece and savor it. It felt kind of nice to know that these had been made especially for him and Marik. It had been a long, long time since they had felt this kind of care.

The creak of the stairs made Celeste look up to find that Avia had finally gotten up. "Hey Avia. Sleep well?" The girl shook her head. "Not at all. I wish she'd let me have one night of pleasant sleep where I didn't wake up hurting in the morning."

The other two had turned their heads by now and were surprised. Instead of the girl they had met last night, the one standing in front of them looked quite different. While the hair color was the same, the style was much different. It was short and reached to her shoulders. Her eyes were also a light brown without the tint of red. She also dressed much more modestly, wearing a school uniform that, while the skirt was a bit short, was actually quite modest. The newcomer, rubbed her eyes sleepily, then blinked when she saw the two of them. "Ummm, Celeste? Who are they?"

"This is Marik and Akefia." She replied, indicating each one respectively. "They will be staying with us for a few days till they can get their own place if that's alright."

Avia smiled brightly and practically skipped over to the others. "Yeah! That's totally fine! Just don't let Pax get to you okay? She's just a bit crazy. So, where are you guys from? And why are you here?" she kept jabbering on while retrieving a bowl from one of the cabinets and pouring herself some cereal. The two were left stunned at the girl's quite warm and immediate acceptance of them, considering her other side's previous reaction. She had sat down on the third bar stool when she noticed Marik's wrapped leg and Akefia's arm, as well as both their states of half dress. She instantly adopted a concerned look. "Did you guys get injured? Was it Pax?" she seemed very concerned about the last part.

"No Avia. I found them that way. Pax didn't do anything, but I'll have to keep an eye on her. She seems to have found you quite interesting Marik." Avia looked over at the blonde man and blushed internally. He was quite good looking, so she could see why Pax might like him. He stared back at her before she turned away and went back to eating her cereal, glancing at the clock ever so often. When she had finished, she put her cereal bowl in the sink and rushed downstairs, reappearing a moment later with her backpack.

"Well, I'm off!" She turned to Celeste. "I'm guessing we are having company tonight?" she nodded, then spoke to the others as a group. "Yes, I will have to bring someone home tonight. Do you two think you could maybe go out to eat tonight? Before its night time, I'm sure Avia could show you some good places and I have some money. You wouldn't mind doing that before Pax emerges would you Avia?' The blonde girl shook her head no, saying she wouldn't mind at all. While they knew it would be risky to go out, if they could find somewhere close it would reduce the risk and keep their end of the bargain. "Sure. We could do that. Just tell us when we need to leave."

Smiling, she turned back to Avia. "Do you want me to walk you to school?"

"Nah. I'll be fine… and I'll be careful!" she added before Celeste could. "Alright. I'll see you later then."

Smiling, she waved and said "Bye Akefia and Marik! I'll show you the good places around here when I get back okay?" and with that she was out the door and out of sight.

They watched her go. Celeste smiled sadly. "You wouldn't know that the girl had been abused by her father the way she acts. I always wonder how she can be so happy with all that's happened to her."

Marik looked at her, her words hitting a chord deep inside him and he turned back to face the door. He felt something for that girl, for like her he too had suffered at the hands of an abusive father. Akefia noticed this subtle change in his friend's mood, knowing that was what he was thinking about. He decided to change the subject. "Seeing as your job is at night, what do you do during the day?"

"Depends on what needs to be done. A laundry trip is in order today so I can get your guy's clothing cleaned. And except for maybe a few household chores, my day is pretty much free and I can do almost anything I want." She replied, taking their dirty dishes and putting them in the sink. She turned back to face them. "Seeing as you two obviously don't have the clothes to go out, would you mind doing something for me? Would it be possibly for you two to clean the dishes while I go do the laundry? I would appreciate it."

They nodded, causing her smile to widen. "Thanks." With that, she left, moving down the hallway and returning with two baskets of laundry. "I'll be back in two hours. Make yourselves at home." She left, pausing only to grab her key and shut the door behind her.

Marik, who had come out of his thoughts, slid off the stool, cracking his neck and looked over at Akefia. "Well, this will certainly be a nice place to hide out. Though, I'm not looking forward to doing chores." He stuck his tongue out, causing Akefia to chuckle at the childish gesture. "Me neither, but we might as well, seeing as there is not much else to do." Without out further ado, the two made their way to the sink and began to wash the dishes, another thing neither had done in a very, VERY long time.

"Miss Avia! Please pay attention!" the harsh sound of her teacher snapped the girl out of her day dream. "Sorry Mrs. Fujioka." Content with the girl's response, she went back to talking about the Ancient Egyptians and their daily lives. Avia sighed boredly and looked out the nearby window.

She couldn't stop thinking about that blonde guy ever since she first laid eyes on him. He didn't look much older than her, maybe three or four, but he was quite hot. She had always wanted a boyfriend, someone nice who would love her for who she was. She didn't want someone like her father. Even the memories of him she tried to ignore, for they were quite painful.

Sighing again, she let her mind wander back to the blonde again. She realized that he must have been from the Middle East or somewhere in the desert due to his dark skin. His companion was probably the same. She fiddled with her pencil, absentmindedly doodling on the paper in front of her. It was only when the bell rang a few minutes later that she came out of her daze and looked down. Staring back up at her was Marik, completely drawn and extremely accurate, right down to the markings around his eyes. Blinking rapidly, she shoved the paper into her backpack and went with the crowd out into the hallway, wishing the school day would be over so she could get back home. It was something that she couldn't describe completely, but she felt a pull, a tug, towards the strange man who, unbeknownst to her, would come to be one of the best things ever to happen to her.

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