Queer As Tachi – Chapter 52

                However Yugi and Yami decided to spend their day, they knew that come evening they would be going out with the gang for the express purpose of toasting Duke on behalf of his coming of age.  His actual birthday was still two days away, but when he had called to request the partying be done on the full moon just so Yami could be there, Yugi enthusiastically agreed.  Any time his friends actively chose to include his partner without needing to be reminded of the full moon days made Yugi ecstatically happy.  It wasn’t that he feared his friends avoiding the pharaoh, but the extra affirmation of his partnership pleased him to no end.  It made him feel normal, for once.  After their excessively late night, Yugi and Yami slept in, but the younger one was the first to awake.  He found himself on his side with his partner spooned up behind him, and noticed as he rolled over to behold the beautiful, sleeping pharaoh that he, too, had gotten up at some point during the night and found pajamas.  He wore them haphazardly, though, the top button undone and the rest askew, the sleeve pulled down to expose his shoulder and leave just his fingers poking out from the cuff.  Yugi gazed admiringly at him for a while, a dreamy smile on his lips, and then moved to face him and brush a kiss to his cheek.  The tiny touch woke Yami, he took a breath and opened his eyes slowly, focusing on the face inches away from his.  Yugi smiled cutely at the flicker of recognition in his violet eyes.  “Morning, sleepyhead,” he said softly.

                Yami groaned under his breath and moved to rub an eye.  “Is it even still morning?”

                “For the most part.”  Yugi pecked him on the lips and then sat up.  “We shouldn’t sleep the whole day away, though.  Grandpa’s got a few things we need to do before we go out tonight.”

                He started to get up, but Yami grabbed him by the arm to restrain him.  With a little yelp, Yugi was pulled back into bed and suddenly kissed with passion.  He gave in immediately and rested his hands against Yami’s shoulders, eagerly returning the kiss with just as much desire.  When they broke for breath, they just held there, gazing at each other, smiling slightly.  Yugi’s fingers caressed a small circle on Yami’s shoulder where his rumpled pajama top laid it bare.  Yami smiled more strongly, as if to prove that he was awake and alert at last, and leaned in to kiss Yugi once more.  His young love surrendered and melted into the kiss, growing quiet all over again and laying back as if to say that getting up didn’t have to be such an urgent priority.  After a moment, Yami murmured huskily against his lips.  “Did you save me a chocolate like I asked?”

                Yugi burst into giggles.  “Yes,” he replied, grinning up at the face hovering above him.  “In fact, I saved two.  One for you, one for me.”

                “Mmm…good.”  The pharaoh smirked and just gave him one last smooch on the lips before letting him up.  “All right,” he relented, pulling his top back into place.   “I suppose, there’s a whole day and a wide world out there waiting for us.”

                They didn’t exactly get out into the wide world – Grandpa’s requests were for Yugi to take care of a couple of things around the house – but they luxuriated in a day of freedom and no need to hurry up and be anywhere or do anything.  While both were sure they couldn’t top the excitement and creative, constant lovemaking of last month’s visit during the tournament, they made themselves some time to be alone together, to lie on the couch in each other’s arms and snuggle and kiss until there was eventually nothing to distract them from turning each other on and needing to retire to the bedroom to complete the job.  At least they were all cleaned up and well-dressed in plenty of time to head down to the restaurant where they were supposed to meet the gang for Duke’s celebration.  Yugi tucked an envelope into his coat to protect it from the elements, as there were very light flurries in the air, assuring Yami that it was nothing extravagant and he had written both their names on the card anyway.  He didn’t know what to get Duke, so he settled on a gift card to one of the clothing and jewelry shops they both frequented.  After all, their tastes were somewhat similar.  Yami pouted comically about not being able to sign the birthday card himself, but it was only for a second, and then they were both smiling as they walked together down the sidewalk towards the meeting place.

                It was just the six of them that night:  Yugi and Yami, Joey and Mai, and Tristan, the ones Duke considered his closest friends.  He had reserved a private tea room in one of the popular restaurants, and accordingly, when everyone arrived they were all dressed a little more nicely than usual.  At least, they all looked good, something Duke complimented them on as they were shown to the room and left to peruse the menu and order drinks.  Being set aside in the tea room gave the group freedom to be noisy and happy all they wanted, neither bothering other patrons nor being bothered by karaoke night in the bar.  They knelt in pairs around three sides of the square table in the warm glow of traditional lanterns, cupping their hands around hot cups of tea or sake to treat chilled fingers and laughing like old friends should.  A little pile of cards and small boxes sat in the center of the table waiting for Duke to open and cherish later.  He sat next to Tristan on one side of the table, looking sleek and sexy in a black and white sweater, leaning on the table and grinning lazily at the attention he received from all sides.  He kept glancing at Tristan, as if checking for an opportunity to do what they really had brought their friends there to do, but no one outside of the two of them noticed.  At last, after the appetizers had been brought and they had enthusiastically reported to the waitress that it was Duke’s birthday in case the restaurant would give him free dessert, the pair glanced at each other once more and nodded, knowing it was time.  At the moment, Mai was answering Yami’s curious question.   “No way, I made Joey drive tonight,” she grinned smugly.  “I had a long day at work, I need to seriously unwind.”

                “Aw, no sake for you,” Yugi teased Joey.  “Just Mai and Duke.”

                “Maybe later,” Duke said upon hearing his name.  “Hey, guys?  Um…thanks for coming, tonight.  It’s good to have friends like you to party with.”

                “Of course, Duke,” Yugi smiled at him.  “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

                Yami gazed keenly past Yugi to Duke.  “Why such a serious face, all of a sudden?”

                Catching himself, Duke put on a faint smile.  “Well, actually…Tristan and I have something to tell you guys.”

                That made everyone else around the table perk up in interest.   “Oh?” Mai prompted.  “You two are conspiring on something?”

                “I guess you could say that,” Tristan replied with a glance at Duke.  “We wanted to wait until everything was…well, clear, before we told you.”

                “Yeah, it’s kind of a big announcement,” Duke agreed.   “We had to be sure.”

                “Hey!” Joey said brightly.  “Are you guys moving in together, as roommates?  Does this mean you’re finally abandoning that shithole of an apartment, Tristan?”

                Duke and Tristan both looked startled, and then shared a glance.   “I hadn’t even thought about that,” the latter remarked.

                “Would you want to?” Duke asked him with all sincerity.   “My place is pretty big…”

                “Eh, it’s a little early,” Tristan shrugged.  “Now’s not really the time to be thinking about something like that.”

                “We’ll talk about it later,” Duke agreed.  “When we get a chance.”

                “Yeah, sure.”

                Joey looked back and forth between them in confusion.  “But…if you’re not gonna be roommates, then…”  He frowned, befuddled.  “I don’t get it.  What else could you be conspiring about?”

                “They’re forming a Dungeon Dice Monsters tag team,” Mai teased.   Nearly everyone laughed.

                Duke fiddled with the cup of tea set before him, turning it idly around while he waited for the joke to pass.  “Well…how do I say this?”  He looked up, and across at Joey.  “The good news is, neither of us will be chasing after your sister anymore, Joey…”

                Joey chuckled.  “That is pretty good news,” he retorted.  “Why, though?  You two both finally came to your senses that she’s too young for you?”

                Tristan looked squarely at Duke.  “I guess we should just come right out and say it,” he said heavily.  Turning his gaze to the others, he took a breath and said, “Guys, uh…Duke and I are seeing each other.”

                Eyes widened all around the table.  “Seriously?” Yugi asked for them all.  “Like…dating?”

                “Yeah.  Dating.”  Duke straightened up and laid a hand over Tristan’s where it rested on the table between them.  “We have been, ever since Christmas.  But we didn’t know if it was just a fling, or it was going to go somewhere, so we didn’t tell you.  Not until we knew.”  Afraid to look at some of his friends, Duke settled on Yami, who sat listening with a faintly curious light in his violet eyes.  “A couple weeks ago, we decided…to be exclusive.  To take this thing seriously.”

                Tristan also found he couldn’t look at Joey, feeling the stares on him, so he glanced aside at Yugi instead.  “When I said I had a date, I really did…but it wasn’t with a girl.   I wanted so much to explain it all to you, but…I didn’t get it myself.”  He looked down at Duke’s hand, and tilted his in order to clasp it for courage.   “I had to be sure how I felt, before I said anything.  This is…it’s a big thing for me, you know.”

                He lifted his eyes in time to see Yugi jump up and pounce on him, and nearly fell over backwards from the fierce hug he was now treated to.  “That’s so awesome!” Yugi gushed.  “I’m happy for you!  But I can’t believe it…”  He pulled back, allowing Tristan room to breathe, and turned to Duke.  “I never would have seen that coming.  You two?  After all that rivalry between you?”

                “We were just as surprised as you are,” Duke said with a little laugh.  “I decided to hit on him, and he decided to take me up on it.  Who knew?”

                “I guess – maybe opposites do sometimes attract,” Yugi laughed.  “How long did you say this has been going on?  Since Christmas?”

                “Yeah.  After we left your place, we decided to go hang out instead of just going home, and, well…”  Tristan grinned sheepishly.  “Like they say, one thing led to another.  We had a couple more dates after that, and…we’re pretty sure, now.   We’re going to keep seeing each other.”

                “That’s wonderful,” Yami put in, reaching to help Yugi settle back down properly in his place beside his own lover.  “I’m glad you both have found someone to make you happy – and it’s each other.”

                Their acceptance filling him with courage, Tristan turned to Joey.   His best buddy was sitting still as a rock, face blank, arms folded on the table in front of him.  “So,” he tentatively began, “Joey?  What do you think?  I know it’s a bit of a surprise…”

                Joey blinked and then shook his head as if waking from a dream.   “Oh…uh…yeah, wow.  You can say that again.”  He frowned briefly at the tabletop in front of him before mustering up the proper thing to say.  “Sorry, I…I’m just a little shocked.  Give me a second to wrap my brain around the idea, it’ll be okay.”  He picked up his gaze and focused on Tristan, solemn and curious.  “You’re sure about this?  Like, totally, really sure?”

                “Of course I’m not,” Tristan sighed.  “It’s all new to me.  I hate that I have to think before I say anything to somebody about a boyfriend, or that the people I care about might have reservations about the person I’ve decided to date.  The only thing I do know is how I feel.”  He smiled briefly at Duke.  “It’s not that we wanted to keep secrets, or run around having this sneaky, secret tryst or something.   I just figured…if we tried out a couple dates but didn’t really want to keep going with each other, it wouldn’t have been worth mentioning.  But…here we are.”

                “But…”  Joey looked puzzled.   “All this time.  You never said anything about swinging that way…”

                Tristan’s shoulders slumped tiredly.  “I don’t,” he admitted.  “It’s kind of like the same thing as Yugi – it’s not that I decided, ‘oh, hey, I want to be gay now.’  It just happens that the person I started falling in love with is also a guy.”  He lifted his eyes again, giving Joey a plaintive look.  “I’m sorry, you jumped the gun on us with the roommate thing.   I know this is a big shock, but…I just want to know that you understand, or at least can accept it.”

                “Of course we can accept it,” Yugi broke in.  “It doesn’t matter who you love.  It’s a nice story – you two having been friends for a while, and rivals, but now you see each other differently.  I think it’s sweet.”

                “It’s okay,” Mai added.  “We’re your friends.  It’s not like we’re going to throw you out of the gang for this.”

                “Yeah, yeah,” Joey agreed, though somewhat halfheartedly.   “Chill out, Tristan.  We’re your friends, right?  There’s no going back on that.”

                A smile returned to Tristan’s face.  “Thanks, guys.”

                “I figured you’d be good about it,” Duke said.   “After all, we’ve had Yugi and Yami to break the ice for us.  We’re just following in their footsteps.”

                Yugi grinned.  “I just hope your relationship is as wonderful as mine, or will be in time.  That’s all I’ve ever wanted for my friends, is for them to be as happy as I am, and find someone to love them as much as I love Yami.”  He seized Tristan’s nearest hand and clasped it enthusiastically.  “Especially Tristan!  Poor guy, he’s never had good luck with girls.”

                “I don’t know why,” Duke shrugged, while Tristan rolled his eyes and looked suitably embarrassed.  “I found plenty to like about him, and I have pretty high standards.”

                “Yeah, right, you do,” Tristan snorted.

                “What, are you saying I have bad taste in partners?” Duke challenged.  “What does that say about you, hmm?”

                Tristan caught himself and waved a hand in protest.  “That wasn’t what I meant!”

                “They’ve only been dating two months and they’re already bickering like an old married couple,” Mai groaned.  “I foresee a very long relationship for you two.”

                Everyone laughed, even Joey, though his chuckle was weak and forced.   Now that the announcement had been made, Duke and Tristan could relax and stop being so jumpy, and everyone could dive into the appetizers.  Yugi wanted to know more about their friends’ dates, and how they knew they were falling for each other, so talk casually turned to divulging the story of how the tentative relationship had been unfolding behind their backs.  After a bit, their waitress came back to bring them more tea and the little sauce trays for their meal, which would be on its way in minutes, so Joey excused himself to go wash his hands and take care of the fact that he had drunk too much tea already.  Tristan watched him go, aware that Joey had not smiled since hearing the news about his dating life, and gave it a couple of minutes before getting up and going after him, under pretense of also wanting to wash up before dinner.

                Joey was at the sink, finishing up washing his hands, when the door creaked open behind him.  He glanced up into the mirror to see Tristan sidle his way into the restroom, his eyes serious and questioning.   “Hey,” Tristan began.

                “Hey,” Joey said, reaching for a paper towel.

                Tristan came up behind him, stopping a few feet away just in case of unexpected physical reaction.  “Are you mad?”

“Why would I be mad?”

                “Okay…not mad.  Freaked out?”

                Joey took a moment to studiously dry his hands and toss out the paper towel, not lifting his eyes to acknowledge his friend.  At last, he heaved a sigh and turned around.  “No, I’m not.  I’d be the world’s biggest hypocrite.  Everything I ever said to Yugi about his relationship applies to you too, doesn’t it?”

                “I’m sorry,” Tristan added.  “I know it’s a shock, but there’s no way news like that wouldn’t have been, no matter how soon after it started that we told you.”

                “I know.”  Joey raised his head and faced Tristan bravely.  “I only want to know one thing.  Be honest with me.  Does he make you happy?”

                Tristan frowned thoughtfully.  “I guess so.  Yeah, now that you mention it, I am happy.  I won’t say he’s the super-romantic sweetheart that Yami is to Yugi, but…we get along.   Better than I expected.”  He smiled sincerely.  “I think we might really have something.”

                Joey held his gaze.  “So…you like it with a guy?  Is it better?”

                “I don’t know about better…it’s just as good.   It’s not bad.”  He gave his friend a curious look.  “You sure you want to know?  I know how Yugi talking about sex freaks you out.”

                “Yeah, I know – I’m trying to be better about that.”   Joey shook his head.  “Really.  You can talk about it.  You and I have been best buds a long time, Tristan – longer than Yugi was even in the picture.  We’ve talked about sex a lot before.  I don’t want it to be any different now.”  His brown eyes hardened.  “I just want to be sure you know what you’re getting into, and that you’re happy.”

                “Don’t worry, he didn’t brainwash me into liking him or anything,” Tristan said wryly.  “No joke, man.   It’s okay.  I will admit, though, it takes some getting used to.  It’s not like I’m on the bottom or anything…I’m not that into it.”

                “You didn’t lose your virginity to him…?”

                “No, no…remember middle school?  Jennifer?”

                “Oh yeah!  The American exchange student.”  A grin suddenly flashed onto Joey’s face.  “Aw, she took advantage of you and then broke your heart, going back to the States and never writing you again.”

                “Yeah, well, turns out she did her best to fuck every guy in our class before going back.”

                Joey sniggered, but then thought of something.  “Hey…she didn’t fuck me.”

                “Yeah, well you were a street punk.  She was scared of you.”

“Really?”

“No, not really.”

                They both stood for a moment, letting the amusement sink in and pass, and then sobered again.  Looking up at each other, they were able to face each other seriously without any hint of argument or upset.   “So,” Joey began again, “what made you change your mind?  Or was there anything?  I just don’t get it, Tristan.  You and I spent our formative teenage years drooling over girls, this is a huge change.”

                “I told you, it’s not that I’ve changed,” Tristan shrugged.  “I just…finally found someone who wanted to be close to me.  It literally happened just like Duke said – he started flirting with me, and hit on me, and I decided…what the hell.”  He sighed firmly.  “The thing is, he wants me, Joey.  I’ve never felt like anyone wanted me before.  It’s a whole new feeling and I really like it.  It’s too early to say whether I’m totally in love with him, but…I like the way it feels to be around him.  Everything that was always so awkward and dumb about getting to know a girl and trying to go on dates and…and tiptoeing around her to make sure I don’t say the wrong thing or get the wrong gift…it’s not like that with Duke.  It’s just so natural with him.  I don’t know why, but…I kinda like it.”

                “And you didn’t stop and think, ‘whoa, wait a minute, he’s a guy, I’m a guy…?’”

                “Maybe.  At first.”   Tristan stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans and turned slightly away.  “But then I thought the same thing you just said, about Yugi.  How could I say one thing to Yugi, about accepting him and Yami, and then think it doesn’t apply to me also?  I guess…”  He frowned at the floor.  “…the more I thought about it, the more I realized I really wasn’t turned off by the thought of getting romantic with this guy.  Not if he was going to shower me with attention and freely give me all the things I ever wanted out of a partner.”  A soft smile crept onto his face, as he spoke more quietly.  “And then when he kissed me, the first time…it was like…I couldn’t understand why people thought it was a bad thing.”

                Joey gazed at him, listening dutifully to everything his friend said.  “He’s that good of a kisser, is he?” he teased.

                Tristan glanced at him, and broke into a true smile again.  “You have no idea.”

                Taking a deep breath, Joey shook his head.  “You don’t have to worry about me, Tristan.  It’s okay.  I’m just letting it all sink in.  I don’t have a problem with it, honest.  Let me have a few minutes to pick my jaw up off the floor and get over the surprise, and I’ll be fine.”  He stepped up to his friend and clapped a hand to his shoulder.  “No one has a right to tell you who you can or can’t be in love with.  Boy, girl, it doesn’t matter.  If this person is fun to be with, and makes your heart do crazy flips inside when you see ‘em or hold ‘em…then that’s all that matters.   Right now…”  He gave Tristan a serious look, his eyes dark and solemn.  “…I’m only thinking it’s a little weird, since it came out of the blue.  You, and Duke?   You used to hate each other.  You were always trying to one-up each other in front of my sister.  How you two decided you wanted each other instead of her, I’ll never know.”  His hand on Tristan’s shoulder squeezed reassuringly.  “But it’s your life, and your choice.  I’m behind you all the way, for that.  I want you to be happy, like I am with Mai, or Yugi is with Yami.   As long as you can honestly say that this is what you want, then I’m all for it.”

                Nodding, Tristan turned to face him.  “I think for the first time in my life, I am being honest with myself,” he said quietly.  “All this time…you and Yugi have been the ones in the spotlight, and I’ve just been backup.   All I’ve ever done is try to be who I think you want me to be, or who you needed me to be.  To everyone else, I’m just good ol’ Tristan, blue-collar worker, sidekick, buddy.  But I never took the time to figure out what I want for myself, who I really want to be.  For once, I’m trying to do that.  I’m trying to find my own way, and discover who I am.  Instead of trying to meet a girl and go on dates and try to find ‘the one,’ which clearly wasn’t working for me at all, I’m just letting go of the whole stupid game and trying to be myself.  That’s why this works – all that matters is how I feel, and right now, I…I really like Duke, a lot, and I like being close to him.”  He sighed again.  “I sound so pathetic.”

                “No, you don’t,” Joey said plainly.  “That’s the most serious I’ve ever heard you be, Tristan.   And you’re right – you shouldn’t put on a fake front and pretend to be something you’re not.  You need to be you.”  A wry smile curved the corner of his mouth.  “I always thought you deserved better, because you’re a great guy and a good friend.  I don’t know why no one ever saw that about you, except your friends.  Who woulda ever thought Duke would be the one to see it that way?”

                “I know,” Tristan chuckled.  “Of all the people.  Well, I don’t care.  So it’s not a girl, after all.  Big deal.  At least it’s proof that someone really does like me, for me, and wants to be with me.  You’d be surprised at how attractive that is.”

                Joey’s smirk intensified.  “Not to mention, I think we got you to admit that he’s hot a while back.”

                “Oh yeah…that.”  Tristan laughed openly.  “I haven’t even thought about that since last summer!”

                “No?”  His friend clapped a hand to his forehead.  “Man!  And here I was afraid we set you on the path of corruption or something.”

                “No, I did it all by myself,” Tristan said with a rather proud grin.  “Though, I guess Duke had a hand in it too.”  He slugged Joey in the shoulder.  “Are we okay, then?”

                “Yeah.”  Joey slugged him back.  “It’s fine.   I think I’m over the shock.  It’s still a little weird, just because it’s Duke of all people, but I’ll get over that, too.  Once I see you two together, and it all clicks.”

                “Yeah…man.”  Tristan turned toward the door with a sigh.  “We haven’t really made a big deal out of it yet, trying to keep it quiet around you guys and all.   Now, we finally can.  That’s kind of a big shock for me, too.”

                “But if you want to…”  Joey followed him as he opened the door to let them both out.  “You shouldn’t hold back.  Not for anything.  It’s a test of how you really feel.”

                They returned to the tea room together, finding the rest of the gang talking casually over what was left of the appetizers.  Everyone glanced up as they came in, and Duke chanced a smile to see that neither of them looked upset.  “Hey,” he greeted them.  “Everything all right?”

                “Yeah.  Everything’s fine,” Joey said sincerely as he sat down next to Mai.  “What, no food yet?”

                Tristan had been thinking about Joey’s last comment as they left the privacy of the restroom, and as soon as he sat down, he leaned over and kissed Duke quickly on the lips.  His partner blinked at him.  “What was that for?”

                “Because I can.”  Tristan settled into his place and took up his cup, taking a casual sip just as the serving staff arrived with their food.  “Ah, dinner!  Perfect timing!”

                As soon as everything was laid out and the six of them stared eagerly at the food, anxious to begin, Yugi picked up his cup and raised it in the air.   “First,” he said, gesturing to the guest of honor.  “To Duke.   Lucky you, you get to be an adult now.  Congratulations!”

                “Now you can buy porn,” Joey added.

                Duke laughed at the toast, as they all raised their glasses to him.  “Thanks, guys,” he said modestly, “but I won’t be an adult for two more days.”

                “Doesn’t matter.  Close enough,” Joey grinned.  “And, uh…”  He kept his glass raised for a moment, and looked across the table at both Duke and Tristan sitting there.   “To you two.  I hope you find what you’re looking for with each other.”

                “Hear, hear,” Mai put in, enthusiastically toasting with her sake.

                Tristan shared a warm smile with his friend across the table, and then they were all laughing, toasting, and digging in.  The food was well worth the wait, and now that they were all more than loosened up and happy, the little tea room was full of noise and cheer.  Now that they no longer had to keep their feelings to themselves, Duke and Tristan found how nice it was to be able to acknowledge each other, to flirt and touch and even sit with their hands clasped after dinner wound down and they were all mostly just sitting there, finishing their drinks and complaining about how full they all were.  Yet, they somehow all found room to share the complimentary birthday dessert provided shortly after.   Yugi sat back and kissed his lover sweetly, sharing the sugary taste of ice cream, and then glanced to see Tristan sitting comfortably close to Duke, the latter’s hand gently caressing his partner’s knee.  “Well,” Yugi remarked, “I guess this turned into a triple-date, after all.”

                “Yeah…technically, I guess,” Tristan agreed.  “Pretty cool, huh?”

                “You know,” Mai said casually, “I always wondered why you and Téa weren’t going out.  It seemed to me like you two were each other’s type.”

                “Téa?” Tristan said incredulously.  “No way.  We were all too close of friends, she didn’t see any of us that way.  Besides,” he added with a smug grin, “I think I was a little too macho for her tastes.”

                “Shows what I know,” Mai shrugged.  “The whole gang of you always hanging out together, I figured sooner or later somebody would pair off.  Totally didn’t see this one coming, though.”

                “Say, how are you going to break this news to Téa?” Yugi wondered, a little more seriously.  “I don’t think she’d appreciate the shock of having it just mentioned in an email.”

                Duke and Tristan glanced at each other.  “I guess it’ll have to wait until she comes back from school,” Tristan replied, looking completely unconcerned.  “Whether that’s in the spring or summer.  You’re right, that kind of news is a little too personal to do over email.”

                “And if for some strange, unknown reason we’re not dating anymore by that time,” Duke said breezily, “well…no harm done.”

                “Just don’t let it go too long,” Yugi said warily.   “I’m afraid I might have made that mistake.”  He felt Yami’s hand on his shoulder, then, and glanced to give him a smile of gratitude.

                “I’m not too worried,” Tristan said, though the flippancy had gone out of his voice.  “This coming out thing is hard.  I have to do it a little at a time.”  He covered his eyes with a hand and sighed.  “I have no idea how the hell I’m going to break it to my parents.”

                “All in good time,” Yami said warmly.  “You had the courage to tell us, that’s a big step.  But there’s no need to rush it.  When the right moment comes, you’ll know.”

                “And if they blame the sort of people you hang out with for corrupting you,” Joey offered, “remind them that you hang out with me.”

                That sent a fresh round of laughter around the table, successfully keeping them from sinking into a serious mood.  Duke tipped back his glass to finish his drink and then brightened up.  “Hey, I’ve got an idea,” he announced to his friends.   “It’s too early in the evening to break up the party.  What do you say to going back to my shop and playing some games?  On me,” he added with a smirk.

                “Ooo, free video games,” Yugi enthused.  “Count me in!”

                Joey and Mai consulted each other with a look.  “Yeah, sure, why not?” Joey decided.  “Beats going home and writing a paper.”

                Upon leaving the restaurant, Yugi and Yami piled into Mai’s car to get a ride over to the shop, while Duke and Tristan left together as they had come, on Tristan’s bike.  They met up again at the game shop, which was bustling with youthful activity around the arcade games and downstairs arenas.  Some of the kids were apparently regulars, for they knew Duke by name and greeted him like a big brother as he escorted his friends through the crowds and whipped out his access card to grant them free games.  Joey, Tristan, and Yugi challenged each other at fighting and shooting games they used to play all the time in high school, but after a while Tristan pulled back and mostly stood aside to watch as Joey and Yugi, then Joey and Mai, smacked each other around on the video screens.  Yugi and Yami also eagerly battled each other at DDR, on the big arcade stage in full view of everyone at the shop, while their friends cheered them on.   Duke even pitted his rusty dance-stepping skills against Yugi for a bit, but he found it much more entertaining just to stand with Tristan and watch.  After all, they were enjoying publicly holding hands, no longer afraid someone might find out.  Strangers didn’t matter, only friends, and now that they knew and didn’t care, the pair felt free to carry on in front of anyone who might catch them.  Duke still stood as lord over his domain, a cool smile on his face as he enjoyed watching his friends have fun, but he did so with his hand firmly and unashamedly clasped in Tristan’s.

                Yugi and Yami took a break to allow some kids to have a turn at the DDR stage, going over to stand with Duke and Tristan while they caught their breath.   “This is so much fun!” Yugi gushed.   “You should really think about expanding the arcade, Duke.  It’s nice to have a place so close to home to play games at.”

                “Not that you get out of your own shop to play all that much,” Duke taunted him.  “I don’t know.  I’d kind of like to do something with the place, make it an even cooler hangout, but I don’t know what, yet.  I’ve been thinking about it, but I have other plans that come first.”

                Yami raised an eyebrow at him.  “New game plans?”

                Duke nodded firmly.  “New expansions for Dungeon Dice Monsters.  I’d like to have it all done in time for fall, maybe do the Tokyo Game Expo thing again, but that’s kind of optimistic.”

                “Why don’t you hold a tournament for Dice Monsters?” Tristan wondered.  “Like Duel Monsters?  You have all the good arenas for it right here.”

                “Yeah, you know, that’s kind of one of the things I was thinking about,” Duke admitted with a bit of a grin at his partner.  “Stop reading my mind, would you?”

                “A tournament would be cool,” Yugi mused.  “You said the league play for the game was going well.”

                “Yeah, it sure is…although the new wireless duel disks have really stolen my thunder.  Everybody wants those, now.”

                “Tell me about it.”

                “Hey, Yug!” Joey called from across the hall.  “The driving game is free!”

                “Oo!”  Yugi turned hopeful eyes on Duke.  “Can we have the card?”

                Sighing comically, Duke pulled it out of his back pocket and handed it over.  “Go on, give him hell.  And tell me what you think,” he added as Yugi bounced away.  “I want to know if that game’s worth keeping!”

                Yami decided to let Yugi go without him, as Joey had challenged him to a racing game the next time the console was unoccupied.  The pharaoh hung back to talk to the others instead, folding his arms over his chest.  “What,” Tristan teased him, “you don’t want to watch?”

                “Yugi doesn’t need me looking over his shoulder all the time,” Yami said with a gentle smile.  “Especially since I do it on every other day out of the month.  He deserves his independence.”

                “Hey, man, thanks for backing us up, earlier,” Duke said more seriously.  “The truth is, we picked this day to go out because we wanted you there when we made the announcement.   Just in case, you know.”

                Yami nodded.  “I understand.  But you have nothing to fear.  All of you have been very supportive of Yugi all this time, I don’t see how your situation should be any different.”

                “There is a lot about it that’s the same as you guys,” Tristan agreed.  “But even so.   Joey and I have been friends a lot longer than either of us have known Yugi.  He and I really go way back.  I didn’t want him to feel betrayed or left out because I went and did something so totally unexpected.”

                The pharaoh gazed keenly at him.  “Did you have a moment to speak with him, at dinner?”

                “Yeah.  He’s all right.   We’re cool.”  Tristan smiled at Duke beside him.  “I expected him to be thrown off, that was only natural.  But he seems to be less freaked-out than he used to be about the sex part.”

                Yami looked away, to where Joey and Yugi were yelling at their little cars on the screen to go faster and beat each other.  “I heard him and Yugi speak about it, not too long ago,” he told his friends.  “Yugi also noticed that about Joey, that every once in a while something he said crossed the boundary and made Joey uncomfortable.  It’s a tricky balance, between wanting your friends to feel like they can trust you to tell you anything, while at the same time, hoping they respect your personal feelings.”  A wry smile curved his lips.  “Yugi and I both occasionally forget that not everyone has the benefit of sharing thoughts as we do.”

                “We kind of do, though,” Duke offered.  “It’s called communication.  We just have to do it the hard way, actually saying what’s on our mind and listening to the other guy.”

                “Yes,” Yami chuckled.  “I suppose you’re right.”

                At that moment, one of Duke’s employees sidled up to him and intruded on their conversation.  Duke briefly introduced him as his publicity manager, Nakano, before turning to see what the man wanted.  “I don’t mean to interrupt you, sir,” Nakano said humbly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.  “I have a bit of store business to run past you, if I could speak privately with you for a moment.”

                “It can’t wait?”  Duke rolled his eyes.  “All right, fine.  Sorry, guys – I’ll be right back.”  He tugged Tristan’s hand in a kind gesture, and the two of them smiled at each other as Duke slowly withdrew his hand from its warm, safe shelter and walked away.

                Tristan let his eyes linger on Duke’s ass squeezed into tight black pants before grinning at Yami.  “It’s pretty nice, you know?  Being able to be affectionate with someone in public.  To be honest, you and Yugi sometimes made me a little jealous.”

                “Sorry,” the pharaoh laughed.  “But now you have someone, Tristan.  I’ve been watching you two all night.  It looks very natural, like you two have always been together.”

                “We sort of have,” Tristan shrugged.  “It just takes that little push to go from friends to lovers.   Really, the friendship’s still there – but there’s more to it now.”  He laughed sheepishly and blushed.  “And I’m gushing again, aren’t I?  Sorry…”

                Duke let Nakano drag him away from the noise of the games into a private corner near the back of the store.  “All right, what’s so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow?” he demanded as soon as they were assured no one else was around.

                Nakano was taller and older than the shopkeeper, properly dressed in a button-up shirt and loosened tie.  He suddenly frowned, his brow furrowing.  “What do you think you’re doing?  Standing around in the middle of the store with all the kids around you, holding hands with another man?”

                Taken aback, Duke gaped at him.  “What?”

                “Do you have any idea how that makes us look?” Nakano pressed.  “If people see you doing that, it will reflect badly on the store.  Our customers are going to boycott us if they think the store owner is gay!”   He scowled worriedly.  “You need to stop it, right now.  People are starting to notice.”

                Duke took a deep breath, straightening up and facing down the stare with a glare of his own.  “I do not believe you had the gall to say that to my face,” he retorted.  “I’ve fired people for less, you know.  What kind of an attitude is that to have, Nakano?”

                “I’m the store’s publicity manager,” Nakano said, not at all deterred by his boss’s anger.  “It’s my job to worry about our image, and what the public thinks of us.  If word got out that you’re gay…”

                “Who’s business is it if I am?” Duke interrupted him curtly.   He was going rapidly from annoyed to furious, which only made his owner-president side flare up into strict coldness.  “I don’t care what people think of me as a person, they’ll still come into my store and buy games because I carry what they want.  My personal life has no bearing on the way I run the store – it never has, and it never will.  And I’ll thank you not to bring it up again,” he added sternly.  “You are the publicity manager, but that’s all you are.  You are not my mother, and have no place to scold me for being affectionate with my boyfriend.”

                Nakano drew himself up, his hands forming into fists at his sides.   “Mr. Devlin, sir,” he said rather less than respectfully, “I’m only thinking of what’s best for the store.  You’re making a spectacle of yourself!”

                “And you’re walking a very thin line between getting a paycheck and being unemployed,” Duke snarled back, his green eyes glittering.  “I’ve always demanded respect from all my employees, including you.  If I hear any hateful comments from anyone, they will lose their job.  I have no patience for people who want to make up reasons to exclude any human being from coming into this store and being welcomed as a customer.  Right now, you’re a hair away from crossing that line.”

                Nakano bristled.  “Sir.  I’ve been your publicity manager since you opened the store.  I’ve helped you build this little empire into what it is today…”

                “And that’s why I’m not tossing you out the door right now,” Duke snapped.  “This is your final warning.  I will not hear any more of this.  What I choose to do with my personal time, and who I choose to spend it with, is none of your business, nor does it have anything to do with the store.  If there really are people out there who are so concerned about what I do in my bedroom that they’d boycott my store if they knew I was gay, I say, fuck them.  I’ll gladly give them up to KC when it opens next month, because I don’t want their money anyway.  They’ll have three choices in the city for buying games, and two of them are run by guys who happen to like other guys.  Sucks to be them, because Yugi and I aren’t going to sit and cry if they’d rather buy from KaibaCorp.  For every one customer we lose because of that, there’ll be five more waiting to hand me their cash.”  He pointed squarely into Nakano’s face.  “And if I catch you saying one negative word about gay men, period, not to mention me or my boyfriend, you will be fired on the spot.  No references.   Got it?”

                Nakano squirmed, obviously holding something back because he was speaking to his boss.  “You’re not concerned about how this might affect the store?” he stammered.

                “No, I’m not,” Duke answered swiftly, “because it won’t.  Now, if you’ll excuse me…”  He turned sharply on his heel.  “I’m on a date with my friends.”

                By the time Duke returned to Tristan’s side, he had swallowed his hot fury and put on a poker face, betraying nothing of the conversation with his manager.  Yami had gone to challenge Yugi for another round of DDR, now that the stage was open again, leaving Tristan standing alone to watch.  He glanced aside and smiled at Duke’s appearance beside him.  “Everything okay?” he wondered.

                “Yeah, it was just a little managerial matter,” Duke shrugged, sliding a hand around Tristan’s waist.  He was rewarded with an arm around his shoulders and a welcoming hug.  “They’re at it again, are they?”

                “It’s hilarious to watch,” Tristan noted.  “Not only do they look alike, but they hit the arrow keys in the exact same way.  They’re in perfect tandem.  It’s like watching boy-band choreography.”

                Duke chose to forget Nakano’s comments and watch, and sure enough, Tristan was right.  Yugi and Yami pounded on the dance stage in perfect unison, the only difference between them being the Puzzle swinging wildly around Yugi’s neck on its chain.  “That’s funny,” he remarked after a minute.  “I wish I had a camera.  That’s worth taking a picture of.  Or video.”

                “Next time we have a party here,” Tristan promised, letting his hand slide down Duke’s back to his waist also.  “They have to see just how weird they look.”

                A long sigh escaped Duke as he watched, a little envious.   “Yeah, but it fits them.  They’re already two halves of a whole, this is just more of the same.”

                Tristan chuckled a little.  “We can all hope to be so close to our partners.  But, hey.  I bet after a while, reading each other’s minds gets boring.”  He glanced at Duke and winked.  “Gotta keep it interesting, you know.”

                Duke gazed at him for a moment, and then grinned.  Perhaps both of them did, deep down, wish their relationship could someday be that strong, but they also knew that neither of them were Yugi.  They had their own lives to live, their own personalities to explore.  Whatever they would grow to have, it would be theirs and no one else’s.  Duke settled comfortably against Tristan’s shoulder as he watched the identical pair stomp on the dance stage together, happy to be right where he was.

                The night ended on high spirits all around, with just enough time for Yugi and Yami to get home, have their last Valentine’s chocolate, and sit up making out for a while before midnight.  Joey gave Tristan the strongest handshake he could possibly handle as a means of assuring that their friendship had not been damaged, leaving Tristan and Duke to say goodnight their own way.  It was getting very late and Tristan’s job required him to be there early the next day, so he wasn’t going to spend the night for once, but the two of them ducked upstairs to the apartment to make out for a while themselves.  Come morning, everything was back to the usual grind, for those working as well as the one still in school.

                Late that following night, the perfect stillness surrounding Duke’s game shop shattered with the breaking of glass.  Three shadowy figures raced through the shop well after midnight, knocking over consoles, smashing shelves, and fumbling in the dark to try and open the register.  Despite the attempt to make as little of a racket as possible, their mission could not be achieved without noise, so they did their best to get it over quickly and be out of there before someone noticed.  Unfortunately, they hadn’t counted on someone being there.  The emergency floodlights suddenly clicked on, and the masked thugs turned sharply to find Duke Devlin standing at the end of the stairwell, barefoot and wearing just a t-shirt and flannel pants for bed, a shocked glare on his face.  He was not normally a light sleeper, but the burglars had made just enough noise to wake him up.  “What the hell?” he cried upon seeing what they were up to.  “Dammit!  Who the hell are you?   Get out of my shop!”

                Rather than run for the door now that they had been spotted, two of the thugs ran towards him instead.  Duke had his cell phone in hand, one button away from calling the police, but the thieves came at him so fast that his first instinct was to bolt back up the stairs to his office before making the call.  He only got a couple of steps up when something grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked, pulling him all the way back down to the main floor.  The cell phone went skittering away across the tiled floor of the game shop as the thugs surrounded him and began to beat him, oblivious to his shouts of protest and flailing in retaliation.  The third only continued to try to open the register, giving up when he realized it was locked and the key was not among those near to hand.  Rather than try to get information from Duke about where he kept the right key, the burglar just came over to help his companions beat their victim soundly before leaving him unconscious and bolting away into the night.

                Yugi had just gotten out of the shower and was only half-dressed when Grandpa called from the other room that someone was on the phone for him.  Curious, Yugi retreated to his room to pick it up, squinting at the bright morning sunlight falling on him through the skylight.  “Tristan,” he said with some surprise upon hearing the voice at the other end.  “What’s up?   It’s kind of early…”

                “Something happened,” Tristan said urgently.  “It’s Duke.  Can you meet me down at his store?”

                “Yeah, yeah,” Yugi said, instantly sobering.  “What is it?  What happened?”

                Tristan sighed angrily.  “Someone broke into his shop last night…and beat him up.”

                “Oh no!” Yugi gasped.  “Is he all right?”

                “The police are here,” Tristan reported.  “We’re trying to get everything sorted out.  But…we could really use a hand.  If you can make it.”

                “Yeah, sure, I should be able to,” Yugi said worriedly, turning immediately to hunt down some socks.  “I’ll ask Grandpa to swap shifts with me, I can be down there in a little bit.”

                When Yugi walked up to the door of Duke’s game shop a short time later, he stopped short with eyes wide in shock.  The complete chaos and destruction was bad enough, with tipped-over shelves spilling boxes and packs of games and cards everywhere, but the big black letters spray-painted across the back wall and the screen for the DDR stage were what stunned him the most.   He had vaguely heard those words somewhere, perhaps whispered between school-age boys passing in the halls to insult kids they hated, but he had never seen them used so personally against one of his friends.  The police were crawling all over the building, taking statements and collecting evidence, but neither Duke nor Tristan were immediately visible.  Yugi had a thought, and rather than try to duck under the police tape and cross through the shop to the stairs, he went back outside and ran around to the rear of the building, up the stairs to the door of Duke’s flat.  He knocked as loudly and boldly as he could, and in seconds Tristan whipped open the door to let him in.  “Yugi,” he said in relief.  “Man, I didn’t even think to tell you not to go through the store.  Smart move.”

                “I didn’t think the cops would let me walk through there anyway,” Yugi said.  “Where’s Duke?  Is he okay?”

                Tristan gestured for him to follow, crossing through Duke’s home and another door into the office.  At last, there was Duke, sitting on the couch under the window at the far end of the office with an ice pack held over one eye, looking battered and tired but still angry as he talked with the police officer taking his statement.  They weren’t alone; as Tristan went back over and sat next to Duke, Yugi glanced to see three of the store’s employees standing nervously in a corner of the office, left to watch the proceedings.  “That’s all I know,” Duke was saying to the officer.  “I can’t even tell you how long I was out.”

                “Well, we’re almost finished up here,” the officer assured him.  “You’ll be able to go through and start cleaning up when the investigative team is done.”

                Duke sighed wearily and glanced across at his employees.  “Sorry, guys,” he said.  “The store won’t be opening today.  But if you want to stay on the clock and get some hours, you can help clean up, after the police are done.”

                “Sure, Mr. Devlin,” the young girl Yugi knew as Aiko said right away.  “We’ll hang around until then.  Is there anything we can do for you?”

                Duke glanced at Tristan and managed a faint smile.  “No, I think I’ve got all the help I need right here.”

                “And you’re sure you don’t want to go be taken to the hospital?” the police officer asked him.

                “No,” Duke said firmly, as if he’d been asked this many times already.  “I told you, I’ll be fine.  As long as nothing’s broken, I just need rest and this ice pack.”

                “You should let them check you out to make sure nothing is broken,” Tristan said sternly.

                Duke elbowed him feebly.  “Stop mothering me already,” he complained, taking the ice pack away from his face for a moment.  Yugi started to see the huge bruise ringing his eye.  “I’m just a little sore.”

                “Yeah?  When did you become a doctor?” Tristan shot back.  “Letting the paramedics check you out isn’t enough.”

                “I’ll be fine,” Duke insisted.  “Yugi…hey, sorry.  I didn’t mean for Tristan to drag you down here, I just wanted him to call you to let you know.”

                “No, it’s okay,” Yugi said, stepping further into the office.  The policeman got up and stepped away to call downstairs to his cohorts on his radio.  “I came to see if I could be of any help.  What happened here?”

                Duke noticed the fearful look in his eyes and sighed.  “You saw downstairs, did you?”

                “Yeah…”  Yugi’s brow furrowed.  “Who could do such a thing?”

                “I don’t know.”  The shopkeeper glanced up at the officer who had interviewed him.  “They’re still working on that.  They’ve been here since the middle of the night, when I woke up and finally found my phone to call for help.”  His eyes darted briefly to Tristan.  “And they made me call someone to come down and look after me.”

                Yugi came and sat down on his other side, putting a hand on his back in comfort.  “You look awful,” he said quietly.  “What did they do?”

                Duke winced as he set the ice pack against his eye again.  “These three guys broke into the shop last night and trashed the place,” he said morosely.  “The police don’t think it was just robbery, they didn’t take anything – they tried to get into the register but I have it specially locked after closing.  They didn’t take any merchandise, they just knocked stuff over, smashed the display cases and a couple of the arcade consoles, and vandalized the DDR stage.”

                “Yeah, I saw that,” Yugi murmured sadly.

                “I heard the noise and came downstairs,” Duke continued, “and surprised them in the middle of it.  I thought they’d make a run for it, but they came over and grabbed me instead, and started beating on me.”  He closed his eyes.   “They were too big, I couldn’t fight them off.  I heard one of them call me a dirty queer before I passed out.”

                Yugi gasped and leaned in close, squeezing a hand on his knee.   “They didn’t!”

                “You got super lucky,” Tristan said heavily.  “They could have killed you.”

                “I don’t think they had that in mind,” Duke demurred.   “They gave up and went away after a bit.   The store was empty when I came to.  I had to find my phone in a pile of Duel Monsters booster packs so I could call the police.”  He shook his head.   “If I hadn’t been woken up by the noise, I would have never known.  The security system was deactivated.”

                “Really?”  Yugi looked from him to the police officer, who had been questioning the employees scheduled to open that morning.  “What does that mean?  Was it one of your workers who did it?”

                “We’re considering that it probably was an inside job,” the officer said.  “Only current employees have the code to turn off the security system, right?”

                “Only managers,” Duke corrected him.  “Yeah, every time I have to let someone go, I change the security code.  Only me and my managers have the code, so they can let themselves in from outside in case I’m out of town or unable to open from the office.  Someone had to let the vandals in, because I sure didn’t.”

                “They came in through the main door,” the officer confirmed, “after the security was turned off.  So the question remains, which of your managers is capable of such a thing?”

                Duke shook his head in frustration.  “All of my managers have been with me for years.  None of them are disloyal.  I can’t imagine any of them even so much as selling the information to thieves so they could get in.”

                “With all due respect, Mr. Devlin,” the officer said plainly, “this can’t have been a random burglary.  The messages on the walls are too personal.  They came to destroy your shop, not rob it.  They have something against you, and I think we can all guess what that is.”

                Duke scowled up at him from around the ice pack.  “I’m a private guy,” he retorted, “I don’t know how these complete strangers could have found out about my sexual preference.”

                One of the girls in the corner clapped her hands over her mouth.   “It’s so awful,” she fretted.   “Those slogans…that’s a horrible thing to say about anyone!  It’s so disgusting…”

                Yugi gave her a sympathetic look.  “Yeah, but I bet there are people who say those kinds of things behind our backs all the time,” he sighed.  “And you’re sure none of your managers could be responsible, Duke?”

                “I didn’t say they couldn’t,” Duke muttered.   “I just can’t believe it.  I…wait a minute.”  He sat up sharply, even though it made a twinge of pain in his back put a hitch in his breath.  “Isn’t Nakano scheduled to open with you guys today?”

                Aiko nodded.  “He was, Mr. Devlin,” she noted, “but he hasn’t shown up yet.  I tried calling him while you were talking to the police but he didn’t answer his phone.”

                The officer looked at Duke.  “This Nakano…?”

                The shopkeeper scowled.  “My publicity manager.  He and I had words a couple of days ago, and wouldn’t you know?  It was about my boyfriend.”  He shot the employees a frown.  “Did he say anything to any of you yesterday about it?”

                The girls looked at each other, some questioningly, but one spoke up.  “He was in a pretty wicked mood yesterday, now that you mention it,” she reported.  “I thought I heard him say something about you letting queers ruin the store’s reputation – it was after we got the mail, and there was that flyer about the KC game shop opening next month.”

                The police officer looked sternly at her, and then at Duke.   “You didn’t mention any of this before.”

                “I didn’t know it had any relevance.”  He threw the half-melted bag of ice on the table in front of him and glowered up through his swollen eye at the cop.  “The night before last, my friends were here with me hanging out, I was treating them on behalf of my birthday.  Nakano saw me with Tristan and got all huffy, he pulled me aside and told me I was making the store look bad by letting people see me holding hands with a guy.”

                Tristan sat up with a start.  “You said it was store business!” he yelped.  “He said that to you?”

                “Cool it, would you?” Duke huffed.  “You can yell at me for that later.  Anyway.  He freaked out on me, and all but demanded that I stop or else people might boycott the store if they thought I was gay.  I told him words like that could get him fired, but I let him off with just a warning and told him not to say it again.”  He turned his bruised gaze on his employees.  “It doesn’t sound like he was about to just let it go.  And now he’s more than a little tardy.”

                “Would Mr. Nakano have the security code?” the cop asked him.   Duke nodded.

                Tristan’s expression darkened.  “I think they call that a suspect.”

                “Do you have this man’s records and identification?”

                Duke got up and went to the file cabinet behind his desk for Nakano’s personal record, which contained a copy of his photo ID and his address and phone number.  The officer took down all the information and then radioed down to his colleagues that they had a suspect they needed to go track down.  He gave one last assurance to Duke that as soon as the investigative team was done collecting evidence he could have his shop back, but until then should just rest, and departed the office.  Duke leaned both hands heavily on the desk, head bowed, until Tristan came up behind him and put his hands on his shoulders.  “Come on, sit down,” he implored, steering him back to the couch.   “The cop’s not kidding.  If you’re not going to go to the hospital, you should at least lay down and rest.  You’ll only make it worse if you keep pushing yourself.”

                “I’m fine,” Duke complained, trying to push away Tristan’s hand but still allowing himself to be plunked down on the couch.  “Just a little bruised and battered.”

                “Are you sure you’re okay, Mr. Devlin?” Aiko asked worriedly.  “Can we get you anything?  Anything at all?”

                “No, no…”  He waved them off.  “I’m sorry you guys have to be here to see this.  Why don’t you…go on down the street to the café and get some coffee or something?   Take a good long break.  Come back in an hour, and if the police are done by then, you can clock in and help me clean up.  Okay?”

                The girls murmured shy agreement and filed out of the office, going through the apartment as Yugi had done to come in.  That left Yugi and Tristan alone with their broken friend at last, and Yugi couldn’t help the tears that sprang to his eyes to see what this ordeal was doing to everyone.  “I don’t believe it,” he whispered.  “One of your own managers let thugs into the store to vandalize it and beat you up?  Just because…because…”

                “Because of me,” Tristan interrupted, his voice low.

                “Tristan…”  Duke reached over and clasped a hand over his to stop him from going any further.

                “No, it’s okay.”  Tristan squeezed the hand in his.  “I’m not going to let them scare me off, not just because some jerk in a black mask who’s too scared to face you outright came in and spray-painted something vulgar on the wall.”  He reached up with his free hand and brushed stray wisps of Duke’s disheveled bangs away from the bruised eye.  “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.  I’m not worth it.”

                “Bullshit.”  Duke feebly swatted away his hand.  “I wouldn’t be dating you if you weren’t worth the trouble.  Would you stop mothering me?” he added with a note of humor.

                “Well, if you’d just go lay down and take a nap, I wouldn’t have to,” Tristan argued.

                Yugi suddenly laughed, despite his watery eyes.  They looked strangely at him.  “It’s just like Mai said the other night,” he re