Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ High School Love ❯ High School Love chapter four ( Chapter 4 )

HIGH SCHOOL LOVE

 

CHAPTER 4

 

 

 

Yugi hummed happily as he collected his books for the first class of the day. He was a little tired, but after having gotten to bed at midnight, it was small wonder he was feeling the effects this morning. He would have made it to bed a lot earlier had Joey, Duke and Tristan not decided they were going to show him what they called a good night on the town once the dance had finished last night. Yami had come along also, more for the purposes of making sure his date was okay than for any real desire to accompany his friends on a little side trip into the city, even though Joey had promised to guard his small friend like gold. It wasn't that Yami distrusted any of his friends; he would have trusted them and no other with Yugi's life under normal circumstances, but Domino was not a city where you wanted to be caught wandering around on your own late at night without some loyal friends to guard your back.

 

As it had turned out, the five friends had gone to the docks to watch the stars and talk about whatever came to mind. Yugi had never suspected that Tristan of all people would agree to such a venture, but he had been the one to come up with the idea of taking them to the docks so they could watch the stars, thus making Yugi reassess his opinion of the brunette. It sure had been a night for some very interesting discoveries, and he turned them over in his mind as he took a shortcut through the seniors' corridor, passing Yami's dorm room on the way. He was tempted to knock on his door and say a quick hello before he hurried off to class, but he knew that his crush - well, friend, actually, with the potential to become more one day down the track if things continued to go their way and there were no further obstacles standing between them and a proper relationship - would still be asleep after last night's fun, but he had promised Yugi that they would hang out today. Yugi certainly hoped so. He had a soccer game this afternoon, and he wanted Yami to be there. He knew the crimson-eyed senior would keep his word; there was no real need for him to be so mistrustful, not after the events of the day before and last night. All the same, things were still on a somewhat fragile footing between him and Yami, even though they had parted on good terms last night. Yugi wasn't about to get his hopes up too high, lest they be dashed. He had had too much disappointment and heartache in his life already. He didn't need any more.

 

He exited the main building and hurried towards the science and mathematics wing, nodding greetings to several seniors who only two days ago hadn't known him from a bar of soap. Now everyone who was anyone wanted to know him, and the thought gave him a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach as he entered his classroom with time to spare. He would have taken his usual seat in the back, seeing as how this class was more than half full of seniors, but now that he had Yami and his friends, plus a very loyal following of other seniors who had bound themselves to him, he felt confident enough to take a seat in the second row. There was no call to be sitting in a corner anymore. He had friends, and they would defend him tooth and nail. He was proud to be one of the closeknit gang of seniors who knew Yami and his friends, and his actions from now on were going to reflect that pride he felt. From now on, he had the right to hold his head high.

 

Shy, white-haired Ryou Kyusuke was sitting a couple of seats away, and he looked at the other junior with some surprise as he took his seat. He had never seen the spiky-haired teen take a seat where he could so easily be noticed in all the time he had known his fellow junior. He supposed it had had something to do with the events of the day before, and of last night, which practically the whole school knew about by now. Certainly there was a definite change in Yugi's attitude this morning. He was no longer the shy teen the other had known. Now he walked with his head high. Small wonder, Ryou thought, feeling a new admiration for his fellow junior come to life inside him.

 

Yugi finished arranging his books before turning a brilliant smile on his fellow junior. “Hi,” he chirped.

 

Ryou recovered enough wits to make answer. “Hi,” he answered, returning the shorter teen's smile. “How are you today? All partied out?”

 

“I'm a little tired, but feeling on top of the world otherwise,” Yugi answered, beaming from ear to ear. He just couldn't stop smiling. Maybe he looked like a goof because he was smiling so much, but he didn't care how silly he looked. He had gone from loner to popular in such record time that it was no surprise he hadn't come down from cloud 9 just yet. More importantly, the seniors who had talked with him last night were genuine in their offers of friendship. He had at first been worried that they were befriending him out of pity, like Tea had done, but he had been quickly reassured on that fact.

 

He had also been reassured of another, much more important factor, one that mattered to him immensely; the overtures of friendship he had received last night came not because he had been taken notice of by Yami Mutou, but because the seniors who had made the overtures wanted to be friends with him for his own sake. It was gratifying to know that his friendship was wanted because it was wanted for friendship's sake and not for any other reason. It was little wonder he felt like doing a dance of joy.

 

Ryou smiled again. He and Yugi had been polite, but distant acquaintances ever since they had met two years ago, but now something new was born between them at that moment, a feeling of companionship and mutual liking. From that moment on, he and Yugi were more than just mere acquaintances. They were friends. Just like that, with no questions asked. “I'm very glad to hear you had a good time last night,” he said, and he meant it too, bringing an even brighter smile to Yugi's cherubic face. He then moved seats in order to sit next to the other teen, much to the spiky-haired junior's delight. “You and Yami are the talk of the whole school this morning. The gossip's been flying thick and fast.”

 

“I can imagine,” Yugi agreed. Small wonder the school was like a hornet's nest this morning. Yami had made no secret of their mutual attraction when the two had danced last night. The tri-coloured-haired teen felt a faint blush creep up his cheeks as he remembered how close they had danced. In fact, it had been a miracle either of them had been able to keep their hormones in check last night. Fortunately, though, Yami was very good when it came to self-control. He could walk the cliff's very edge and not topple over until he wanted to. It was one of the reasons why Yugi had allowed them to get so close last night. Yami would not cross any lines without their both wanting it, and it had given Yugi a sense of comfort he had never felt before. Being held so close in Yami's arms had been like riding the crest of a dangerous tsunami, but at the same time he had felt himself to be in the strongest, most impregnable fortress in the entire world. It had been an unusual feeling, but at the same time, very comforting indeed. “So what have they been saying?” he asked. It would be interesting to see if any bets had been laid about how long it would take for him and Yami to get together. He smiled again, this time inwardly. Yami was content to wait until they knew each other better before embarking on anything more serious, and the knowledge that the crimson-eyed senior was prepared to wait for him gave the small teen a very pleasant feeling indeed. There was something tremendously gratifying in knowing that your crush was prepared to wait for you until you felt confident in proceeding into a more serious relationship. It implied the enormous trust and confidence Yami had placed in him, and Yugi was very well pleased with the state of affairs indeed. He was going to have the nicest time ahead of him as he and Yami got to know each other better. There were so many new discoveries and revelations to be made that Yugi honestly didn't know where to start. There was plenty of time, though, he thought with a smile, recalling Yami's last words to him the night before after the two had returned to the school following their excursion into the city.

 

“You don't know how long I've waited for someone like you to come along,” he had said, as they stood outside Yugi's dorm room door prior to their parting ways for the night. “I've never ever wanted to be with someone as much as I've wanted to be with you.” He had then taken Yugi's hand in his and looked into the younger teen's eyes with great seriousness. “But I promise you this, Yugi; I will not rush you into something you're not ready for. I will wait for you for however long it takes. I'd even wait forever if that was what you wished. And I will do everything that I can to help you to see that I will want you, and only you. There will never be anyone else for me; I promise you with my whole heart.”

 

Ryou sighed as he looked at Yugi's face, soft with reverie as he recalled the events of the night before. He hated being the bearer of bad tidings, so to speak, and he wanted nothing other than to not have to spoil his new friend's mood, but some of what he had heard this morning was far too serious to ignore. “Well, a lot of it wasn't pleasant,” he said reluctantly, wincing when Yugi's face lost some of its happiness. He didn't want to tell his newmade friend some of the things he'd heard, but Yugi had a right to know what people were saying. Not saying anything was going to have serious consequences. It was best to get it out now and save Yugi unnecessary heartbreak later on down the track. He determinedly pressed on, telling himself that he was doing Yugi a good turn. He hoped. “Some people are saying that it's only a one-night stand type thing, and that Yami's just using you so he can get a good fuck out of you and then boast to his friends how good - or bad - you were.”

 

Yugi felt a small tendril of fear curl its way around his heart as some of his happiness faded away, but he quashed the emotion as best he could. He had no reason to believe that Yami was going to do that to him, not after last night. “If Yami was going to use me, he'd have done it by now,” he said as firmly as he could, but his voice was trembling a little. Now that that little tendril of fear was securely nestled inside his heart, like a small, but deadly serpent, he couldn't shake it off, no matter how hard he tried. Just how sure could he be that Yami WAS genuinely interested in him? Gods, he had no idea. They HAD only known each other for just two days. Then there was the misunderstanding they had had the day before too. What was there to prevent Yami from deciding that Yugi wasn't to his liking, that he was better off seeking other prey who would suit him far better? Or worse; what if it turned out that Yami wasn't gay after all, that he had put on a superb act to fool Yugi into thinking that the elder teen liked him?

 

The remainder of Yugi's buoyantly happy mood deflated as though punctured with a pin. His doubts and insecurities returned to him full force, and his whole body felt as though it was encased in thick, suffocating ice. The only way he was going to know for certain was to seek out Yami later and get the truth from him. It was all very well for them to have been so intimate last night - and Yugi couldn't forget how nice it had been to watch the stars from the protective shelter of Yami's arms down on the docks after the dance had ended last night - but the difference between last night and this morning was as vast as the Grand Canyon - and most likely just as hard to bridge. Yugi didn't want to display such distrust in Yami, but remembering the bitter scene with Tea yesterday afternoon, he suddenly found that he could no longer be quite so certain as to whether or not Yami was genuinely attracted to him. It made for some pretty upsetting contemplation.

 

 

 

 

The sound of a hand striking flesh rang through the entire common room, and stunned silence travelled outwards in waves, like the ripples of a pond. Forks, knives and spoons clattered to the tables, or the floor, and a glass smashed somewhere over by the entrance to the seniors' corridor.

 

Tea Gardner held her hand to her crimsoning cheek, her eyes wide and stunned, tears pooling in their azure depths. It was a sight carefully calculated to invoke pity, but to Joey Wheeler, it was nothing more than a sham, a two-faced act designed to lull you into a false sense of security so you wouldn't feel the knife going into your back until it was too late. He stood over her, honey-brown eyes blazing with an anger that was terrible to behold. Like Yugi, he was reasonably mild-mannered. If anyone dared to hurt Yugi, or Serenity, however, they had to deal with Joey. Joey in a fury of savage anger was not a sight one wished to behold, especially if one happened to be on the receiving end.

 

“Didn' ya learn your lesson?” he yelled, quivering with rage. “Ya've been spreadin' rumours, causin' Yug an' Yami more grief, an' don' try ta deny it eit'er slut. Tris' and Dev saw ya whisperin' ta your slutty frien's dis mornin'. It don' take a genius ta work out what da hell you was up ta.”

 

“And what are you going to do about it?” Tea cried. “Some friend you are, Joey Wheeler! Are you just going to sit there and let Yugi be hurt? I thought you were supposed to be his best friend.”

 

“I am!” Joey roared, causing all those closest to him to jump. “Dat's why I'm tellin' ya ta leave him da fuck alone an' stop spreadin' your shit all ova da whole school!”

 

“It's true!” Tea yelled, her own anger rising. “I can't believe you're defending that loser! His reputation is disgusting! You should know! You hang around with him! But that just makes you a loser too if you're going to defend such a lowlife backstabber.”

 

“You're da loser,” Joey said, his voice suddenly gone deathly quiet. All those who knew him quaked in their shoes. For him to turn so suddenly quiet was a bad sign. “You're jealous, an' ya feel ya've been hard done by. All because Yugi chose ta fall in love wit' someone ot'er dan yourself. So you t'ink it's right ta ruin his chances at happiness by conspirin' wit' da likes a' Mai Valentine, an' usin' ma own sista ta do your dirty work for ya. Well guess what. I'm not lettin' ya cause any more trouble, ya hear me? If you eva, an' I mean EVA, do dis shit again, I'm gonna take ya apart at da seams. Understan'?”

 

“Are you threatening me?” Tea demanded. “I can have you expelled for that kind of thing.”

 

“Don' coun' on it,” Joey warned. “You're walkin' a real t'in line yaself. I'd watch my back if I were you. You don' have many friens' ta call your own right now, an' if I had my way, you'd be outta here so fast your head would spin.”

 

“You don't scare me,” Tea snarled, drawing herself up to her full height and matching Joey glare for glare.

 

“Maybe he doesn't scare you, but I do,” a new voice said coldly.

 

Joey turned at the sound of these coldly-spoken words, and Tea's face turned paper white, the crimson handprint on her cheek standing out in stark contrast to the extreme paleness of her skin. Seto Kaiba was standing behind them, arms folded, his icy blue eyes even colder than usual. “I highly recommend you keep your nose out of Yugi's business,” the young CEO said calmly, but there was whipcord anger in his voice. “Things are very hot for you right now. They're going to get a lot hotter if you try to cause more trouble. Take some advice from an old friend; keep that trap of yours shut. Or you're going to be gossiped about next. I promise you it will be far less pleasant than what you've been spreading this morning. And the consequences will be far more damaging.”

 

Tea gave a low cry and fled, and Joey blinked, amazed that someone else had had better success with putting Tea in his place than he. “T'anks,” he said at last, giving the other senior a grateful smile. “I guess I owe ya one, huh?” He had never had much cause to like Seto Kaiba before, but the brunette had just gained a worthy shine in the blond's eyes.

 

Kaiba shrugged Joey's sincere gratitude off as if it was of no importance to him whatsoever. “I have a highly impersonal interest in this whole affair,” he said nonchalantly, turning to go. “Trust me, I couldn't care less what happens to Yugi. I just want Tea put in her place once and for all. She and I have a bit of a history, and I have the means to take her down if I so choose. She hasn't given me much cause to do so yet, but she's going to push her luck over the edge if she tries any more of her tricks.” He then fixed Joey with a cold blue eye. “I highly recommend you don't say anything about this to anyone. No one but Tea and I know what happened, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. If I'm pushed to revealing some secrets that are best left locked away, I'll be very unhappy. Watch your back, mutt. If your flapping tongue makes me do it, I'll be coming after you.”

 

Joey's jaw dropped to the ground as he watched the other senior walk off. Around him, chatter resumed slowly, and the blond senior was left to gather his scattered wits. Kaiba and Tea had a history? It mustn't have been too good if just a few icily spoken words from the CEO freaked Tea out to the point where she had to run away. Joey could only hope that Kaiba's words had more effect than his had had. There was Mai to be dealt with as well, he remembered. He suspected, however, that Kaiba would settle Mai as well. Anyone associated with either girl - and that included the girls themselves - would find themselves on the receiving end of trouble faster than the eye could blink if Kaiba was as effective with them as he was with Tea - that is, if the CEO found enough heart in him to take his good deed one step further should Tristan's efforts to curb the blonde girl's tongue failed. Joey could only hope for the best. He had a bad feeling that this new round of gossip was not going to be good for Yugi's self esteem, though. He was going to have to find his friend and allay his fears, and fast, before it was too late.

 

 

 

 

“No, no, no. You've got it all wrong. There is no way on this planet that Yami would stoop so low as to do something like that to you. He's taken a very keen interest in you. Haven't you worked that out yet? Why should he turn around and stab you in the back after demonstrating how much of an attraction he has to you? If there's one thing Yami isn't, it's fickle.”

 

Yugi sighed. “I know, and thanks for helping me see sense, but I still can't help being afraid. I know Tea was put in her box, but what about Mai? She could still do a lot of damage. If something isn't done about her to stop her from trying to cause trouble between me and Yami, things are going to be over before they've even begun, and I don't want that to happen. I want to be with Yami one day, and I don't want Mai or Tea spoiling things by turning us against each other with their foul gossip. And I especially don't want it to turn out to be true, that Yami really was using me, just like the gossip said he was. He was so nice last night. I don't want to believe that he could be so two-faced. I refuse to believe it.”

 

Marik Ishtar put his hands on Yugi's shoulders and squeezed them tightly. “Listen to me,” the platinum-haired senior said, his lavender eyes serious as he looked into the younger teen's tear-filled amethyst orbs. “I know Yami Mutou very well. We're not exactly what you would call close friends, but I know what he's like. He's very consistent with his feelings. He doesn't hide what he's feeling. He lets you know exactly what's going on, and you know where you stand with him. He doesn't sneak behind your back, and if there's one thing you can count on him to do, it's to stick by you through thick and thin. He won't turn and stab you in the back. If anything, he'll take the road with you, and even if he can't do anything to make your burden lighter, he'll be there beside you, and he'll help you carry that burden until you can lay it down and be free of it. I should know. He was there for me when our parents divorced, and dad took Isis with him. He didn't know what there was he could do to help my immediate problem, but he took me to a club and he paid for all my drinks so I could get pissed and try to forget the pain for a little while. He listened to all my shit, and when we had to go home, he came with me, and he made sure that I got to bed so I could sleep it off. He didn't have to do any of this for me, but I'm sure glad he did. I don't know how I would have coped had he not been there to provide a shoulder for me to cry on. Mom was a mess, and she spent all her time crying and getting pissed to the point of unconsciousness. I didn't have a friend in the world. No one gave a fuck. But Yami was there, and he got me through the worst period of my life that I have ever had to go through. He even kept it between the two of us. He never spread any gossip, and I was very grateful to him for keeping a still tongue in his head. He's very good at keeping confidences. You know where you stand. You can tell him anything, and it'll be like you just put your most precious possession inside Fort Knox under the tightest security on the planet. You can count on him to remain loyal to you to the bitter end. And because he's taken a more than passing interest in you in particular, he's going to devote himself to you body and soul.”

 

Yugi felt the tendril of fear melt away at these last words, and he smiled. It was a watery smile, but still a smile. “Thanks,” he said, feeling as though a heavy boulder had just been lifted from his shoulders. “It was driving me half crazy wondering if I'd been set up for a fall after everything that happened last night. I guess it's because I've never really experienced this sort of thing before, and it's scary, to say the least.”

 

Marik squeezed his shoulders again. “I know,” he said simply. “Trust me. Love is never easy.”

 

Yugi nodded and smiled again, but his insides starting churning again at the mention of the word “love”. That just wasn't possible. Surely he couldn't have grown to love Yami THAT quickly, right? After all, just because you got hot and cold and prickly all over when you were near someone you were strongly attracted to, it didn't mean that you loved them, right? Just because every word from their lips was like a drop of silver light, and their very nearness was both frightening and exhilarating at the same time, it didn't mean that you were head over heels in love with them, right? Just because you felt both exposed and protected whenever you were around them, it didn't mean you were over the moon for them, right?

 

{Damn it, why did Marik have to bring the word “love” into it?} Yugi thought crossly. {Does he have to complicate things even further? I've just gotten over worrying about whether or not Yami is using me, and my insides have gone and twisted themselves in knots again. I sure wish I had someone like Joey, or Tristan, or even Duke to talk to}

 

As if the thought of his loyal band of friends had been a summons, Duke Devlin came into the library, frowning. He spotted Yugi and Marik in the corner and came over to them, the frown disappearing. “There you are,” he said to Yugi. “I was looking all over for you.”

 

“How come?” the younger teen wanted to know.

 

Duke sighed and ran a hand through his black hair, his green eyes troubled. “You might want to know that Tea and Mai have teamed up to cause more trouble, or to try causing more trouble, I should say.”

 

Yugi sighed. There went his good mood for the second time today, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet. “I know,” he said unhappily. “Ryou told me some of the gossip that's going around the school this morning.” He let his head fall for a moment, before looking up at Duke with a look of appeal so heart-wrenching it was impossible not to be moved, unless you had a heart of stone, of course. “It's not true, is it?” he pleaded. “I don't want it to be true. I like Yami a lot. Tell me he won't stab me in the back, please?”

 

Duke grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. Without a word he half-led, half-dragged the smaller teen out of the library, leaving Marik sitting alone once more. He shrugged and returned to writing his paper. He certainly hoped he was right in his assertion that Yami wasn't just playing with Yugi's heart. God knew he didn't need the heartbreak of knowing that he had been used, when all along he had believed that he had found true love at last.

 

 

 

 

Duke was so grimly silent on the way to the common room that Yugi feared he had misstepped somehow. Those fears were allayed, however, when the elder teen sat him down at a vacant table, before taking a seat across from him. “No, Yami's not using you,” he said in a voice so tightly-controlled it was a wonder he was able to speak in a normal tone of voice at all. “Joey nearly broke Tea's neck this morning when he found out she and Mai had concocted those rumours to try and get you and Yami to have another disagreement. I just finished talking to Tristan. He promised Mai that if she so much as breathed wrong, he'd take her apart at the seams.” The green-eyed senior dropped his head in his hands and sighed. “Damn it all, those two are still determined to cause trouble even after their scheme failed so spectacularly yesterday. Their friends have more or less distanced themselves, leaving those two to try and botch things up.”

 

Yugi sighed, not feeling very reassured right now. If only he could be certain that Yami wasn't playing games with him! There was time enough to worry about that later, however. Right now, there was something else playing on his mind, something that was going to drive him crazy if he didn't get it out in the open. “Marik said something really strange to me just before you came,” he began. “He said something about love not being easy, and it scared me.”

 

Duke could see why. In the middle of all these doubts and insecurities, bringing the word “love” into the equation was not the smartest move in the world. Marik might have hit on something, though. “I think he meant in general,” he said gently, not wanting to alarm his small friend any further. “He probably wasn't talking about you in particular.” {Although I'm half-tempted to think that he was} Duke added silently to himself.

 

“That's a relief,” Yugi said. “I don't want anything else worrying me, not when I have enough on my plate at the moment.”

 

“And speaking of plates,” a new voice announced, “it's time for lunch.”

 

Duke and Yugi looked up to see Tristan standing there, a smile on his face, although his gaiety was belied by a grimness to his eyes that made Yugi shiver a little. Then he remembered that Tristan and Joey were defending him against this latest storm of gossip, and a warm feeling spread from his stomach outwards, until the feeling enveloped him from head to toe. Fear still lurked somewhere in the deepest recesses of his mind, but he was able to be free from it for a little while. He had friends, loyal and true friends, and they would defend him tooth and nail. He had nothing to worry about any longer. He smiled. “What's on the menu today?” he asked, glad that his gaiety was at least genuine on the surface, even though right now he was a quivering mess on the inside. It was hard to force a carefree gaiety when you were a pile of jelly inside. But he was going to be lighthearted even if it killed him. He knew his friends would be completely understanding if he broke down and lost his self-control in the face of the current crisis, but there was only one place he wanted to cry, and that was in the arms of the very person who was causing him such rapture and heartbreak.

 

 

 

 

“KNOCK `EM DEAD, YUG!”

 

Yugi darted amongst the other soccer players, his nimble feet keeping the ball moving while at the same time making sure that it stayed with him and didn't become lost in the press of players seeking to try and take it from him.

 

There were only a few seconds left on the clock. The score was tied at 2 all. Domino had never won a soccer game against Tokyo High, its fiercest rivals, in all its thirteen years of playing in the mini league. Hopefully, that was about to change.

 

Yugi spotted the goal just ahead. There was the goalie, a black-haired, blue-eyed senior from Tokyo High. He was sneering, as if to say, “What's a runt like you gonna do against me?”

 

{You'll see} Yugi thought, feeling a smirk make its way to the surface. This was the first year he had played soccer, and he had never let his team down. He wasn't about to break that record.

 

5 seconds to go. The crowd was yelling wildly; dust was thick and heavy in the air. Yugi's throat was so dry it was a wonder it didn't catch on fire. He was hot, tired, sweaty, and more exhilarated than he had ever felt in all the games he had played this year. He was driven by a fierce determination to not only make his own team happy, but to make Yami proud of him. He had no idea if the senior had made it to the game or not, but he was playing as if the elder teen was there, and he was going to make this goal count, not only for the team, but also for Yami.

 

4 seconds. Yugi's leg drew back, and with a grunt of effort, he let fly, kicking the ball with all the might he could summon from his tired legs. “THIS ONE'S FOR YOU, YAMI!” he yelled. He didn't know if the crimson-eyed senior heard him - if indeed he was there - but he didn't care. He was doing this for his friend. That was all that counted.

 

The ball rocketed towards the net at lightning speed. Time seemed to slow down to a trickle as the goalie leapt to block the shot.

 

3 seconds. His gloved hands reached out ever so slowly. The roar of the crowed became muffled, as if a heavy fog had enclosed the stadium.

 

2 seconds. The goalie's fingertips brushed against the ball. Yugi could see the strain on his face as he tried to deflect the ball with enough force to make sure that it didn't hit the net, thus ensuring a tie. Yugi's heart was hammering in his ears, thumping so loudly and with such force that he felt sure his whole body was vibrating in time with each beat.

 

1 second. The ball spun lightly off the goalie's hands, and his face contorted in a look of dismay as he realized that this shot was going to go through. Every nerve in Yugi's body was stretched to breaking point, and his heartbeat sped up with an almost painfully ecstatic joy as he watched the ball slip through the goalie's fingers, bouncing lightly against the net and coming to a gentle halt in the corner.

 

Yugi blinked sweat out of his eyes as time returned to its normal flow, and the roar of the crowd returned, slamming into him full force, making him stagger a little as reality hit him square between the eyes. The whistle sounded, and he watched in bemused amazement as the goalie slumped to the ground, burying his head in his knees. Other players from Tokyo fell to the ground in similar positions of despair. The Domino players, on the other hand, were ecstatic. They'd won! They had finally beaten their rivals! This victory had been thirteen years in the making, but at long last, they had pulled it off!

 

There were hugs all around. Yugi only became aware of his team's rousing success when he heard someone yelling his name, cheering and shouting as though gone mad. Slowly, his tired, fogged senses registered the voice as belonging to Joey, and he turned with a tired smile to see his friend and fellow teammate running towards him. “YOU DID IT!” Joey yelled, scooping his friend up and spinning him round in a dizzying circle. “YOU WON US DA GAME!”

 

Not content with making Yugi feel as though he was on a merry-go-round gone mental, the blond lifted his smaller friend onto his shoulders and began a triumphal parade around the stadium. The rest of the team fell into place beside them, clapping each other on the back and throwing compliments up to Yugi, who was still too tired to register much beyond the fact that they had won against their most bitter rivals for the first time in thirteen years. His eyes swept tiredly over the crowd, sliding past Tea's tight-lipped silence… what did she matter, anyway? Mai was cold-faced, but Yugi barely saw her cold lavender eyes… Ryou was smiling… Duke and Tristan gave him victory signs… Marik flashed him a “V for victory sign”… Crimson eyes met his, and they were smiling… Yugi's heart ground to a halt.

 

“Told ya we'd drag Yami's ass here if it was the last thing we did,” Duke was saying, but the words were lost in the fog and daze of amazement, disbelief, uncertainty, relief, and overwhelming joy that left Yugi breathless. He could only look into those intense crimson orbs, his whole body trembling from head to toe, his heart hammering so fast and so loud he felt faint. Fresh sweat broke out over his body, and he felt waves of heat and cold race over him, every nerve tingling, as if little sparks of electricity were racing along his veins. One coherent thought stood out in his jumbled maelstrom of thoughts… Yami's here…

 

“Very funny,” said senior growled, throwing Duke and Tristan dirty looks. “They threatened me with disembowelment if I didn't turn up, never mind that I was as sick as a dog from all that punch they forced down my throat last night.”

 

“ExCUSE us?” Tristan responded indignantly. “We didn't hear you complain much, did we, Duke?”

 

Duke shook his head. “Not a word,” he announced.

 

Yugi could take it no longer. “Yami,” he whispered, stretching out hands that trembled.

 

Crimson eyes reconnected with his, and he trembled as though struck anew. Gods, he couldn't get enough of looking into Yami's eyes. They were so beautiful, so intense, so overwhelmingly powerful and magnetic. It was a wonder he hadn't toppled from his perch on Joey's shoulders.

 

Yami carefully and gracefully climbed down from the bleachers, and at the same time, Joey crouched down so Yugi could scramble off his shoulders. “We'll see you two later,” he said, watching with a smile as Yami reached out and took Yugi's hand firmly in his. The smaller teen looked up at his elder with adoration shining clearly in his eyes, and Yami smiled down at him as they left the gym, seemingly blissfully unaware that Tea and Mai alone were looking as though they had eaten sour grapes. Who cared about them, though? What mattered was that Yugi no longer looked as though he'd been kicked in the guts, and Joey turned back to his friends with a sense of having done a job well. “Success,” he announced. “T'anks, guys. I owe ya one.”

 

“Don't mention it,” Tristan said with a dismissive wave of the hand. “It just goes on your tab again.”

 

Joey could only manage a tired grin. “Yeah, well, don' be expectin' too much a' me; I'm whipped. Let's say we meet up at eight so we can go celebrate, huh?”

 

“You can count me in,” Duke said, grinning from ear to ear.

 

“I won't say no to that,” Tristan added, also grinning. “Let's just hope we can pry Yugi and Yami's attention away from each other for long enough to get them outta here.” This provoked laughter amongst the three seniors, all of whom were more than a little relieved that the damaging rumours earlier today had failed to pierce the bubble of safety and security that now surrounded their two friends.

 

 

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~