Queer As Tachi – Chapter 65

                Playing Legendary Heroes had wasted more than an hour, and the afternoon was drawing on when the gaggle of friends made it back to the picnic pavilion to check on Téa.  She had at least come out of the bathroom, and was belatedly finishing off her cake in a closed, sullen mood while she waited for them to return.  She glanced up when the noisy bunch intruded on the otherwise silent pavilion, her eyes going straight to Yugi and Yami in the middle of the group with a look of regret.  Yugi sobered immediately, gazing back in expectation and scant hope.  Joey broke the tension for them.  “Hey, Téa.   How’re you doing?”

                Téa glanced at him and gave a tiny shrug.  “Okay, I guess.  Uh, Yugi…?”  She lowered her eyes to the crumbs on her plate.  “Um…I’m sorry I upset you.  Mai told me.  I…that was really mean of me, to make you cry on your birthday.   I’m sorry.”

                Yugi  nodded.  “I understand you’re probably scared, that we don’t seem to be the same people you remember anymore,” he said timidly, “but I wish you could see that everything’s okay.  It’s not at all like you think.”

                Téa looked from him to Tristan and Duke, and then to Bakura just behind them.  “You’re going to all have to give me some space while I think about that,” she said thickly.   “All the surprises…it’s not really sitting well with me.  I need to think about how I really feel about it.”

                “Sure thing,” Tristan said heavily with a nod.  “Take your time, Téa.”

                She mustered her composure and looked around the group, deciding to address Mai and Joey.  “Where did you guys go?  More rides?”

                “Actually, Mokuba took us to see a big secret of the park,” Joey replied.  “Kaiba’s putting in a real Legendary Heroes virtual world, and he let us take first crack at it.   Pretty neat, I’m sorry you missed out on it.”

                “That’s okay.”  Téa chanced a faint smile, while the others milled around and got drinks.  “I think I’ve had my fill of virtual worlds for one lifetime.  As long as you guys had fun.”

                “Yeah, it was really fun,” Yugi agreed in a soft tone.

                “When Mokuba gets back here, we’re going to go on some more rides,” Grandpa Muto offered.  “Would you like to join us?”

                “What about your presents, Yugi?” Mai broke in.  “You should probably open them before we head back out, in case anybody has to leave early or gets split off from the group.”

                “Oh.  Well, as long as we’ve got a few minutes,” Yugi said, going around the table to his seat.  His friends gathered up the small bags and boxes they had brought for him and piled them in front of him before taking their own seats to watch.  It filled the time until Mokuba’s return nicely, and the brief flicker of melancholy in Yugi’s mood was successfully wiped away by the little gifts.  Joey’s, actually, wasn’t so little, but they had been best buddies for a long time and owed each other extravagant presents for their respective milestone birthdays.  Bakura got him a silver necklace, Duke got him a crazy t-shirt, and Tristan gave him an entire boxed set of an animated series Yugi loved.  He could afford it, now that he wasn’t shelling out so much rent.  The showering of so much affection rendered Yugi adorably teary again, necessitating some roughhousing from Joey to perk him back up.  “Thanks, all of you,” he gushed to them, feeling a little silly for getting so emotional in front of them.  “It means a lot to me, to have you here.  Everything’s just gone so awesome today, thank you.”

                Téa shrank down in her seat, thinking what had been unsaid and Yugi was too forgiving to say:  except for that whole thing with Téa getting mad at me.  The others just passed off his sentiment and assured him that he was worth it.  “It’s been the coolest birthday party I’ve been to in a while,” Duke added.  “Hey, wait a minute.  Didn’t your own boyfriend get you a present?”

                Some of them eyed Yami, but he sat there cool and collected, hardly twitching an eyebrow.  “Of course I did,” he replied smoothly.  “But I prefer to give it to Yugi later, when we’re at home.”

                “Aw, something special,” Joey teased with a stupid grin.

                “Well,” Yugi quickly interjected before anyone could start making comments about being alone and in the bedroom, “what do you say to one last round of rides and games before we call it a day?  I am getting kind of tired, but I’m not ready to leave just yet.”

                They all agreed it sounded like a good idea, so with Mokuba’s VIP clearance going ahead of them, they split up again and hit a few more roller coasters before winding out the day playing carnival games based on the gambling-style magic and trap cards such as the ones Joey stacked his deck with.  His familiarity with the concepts didn’t make him any better at playing them, though, and no one did particularly well, coming away with a few trinkets.  By that time it was definitely getting late in the afternoon and the park started to clear out, as families with tired and whiny children opted to leave before dinner and other patrons just sort of milled about or looked for food before the evening shows and events got started.  All that was left for the partygoers was to snoop through gift shops for souvenirs and take some last-minute photos, and then they mutually agreed that they had wrung every last bit of fun out of Kaibaland and could declare the party officially over.  They wrapped up what was left of the cake, collected Yugi’s presents, and escorted him to the park gate where they could trade hugs and say farewell for now.  Téa just gave them all a little wave before darting off, not wanting to make them any more uncomfortable than they were, but the others wished their friend well and happy birthday one more time before heading in their own directions.  Bakura helped Yugi and Yami carry things to the car, and then held the door for the guest of honor.  “How are you doing?” he asked kindly before Yugi could hop in.

                Yugi’s mood had grown withdrawn again, as exhaustion and emotion caught up to him with the waning of the day.  He just gave a little sigh and closed his eyes.  “I don’t know.  I had fun, but…there’s still a bit of a shadow hanging over me.  I won’t be able to think of how great this day was without thinking about Téa…”

                “Perhaps a little pick-me-up on the way home is called for?” Grandpa wondered as he opened the car door.  “Ice cream, maybe?  You too, Bakura.”

                Yami definitely perked up, and Yugi gave his grandfather a warm smile.  “Yeah, sure.   That sounds like fun.”

                They swung past a place to get ice cream on the way to dropping Bakura off, and he was delighted to be able to be the last to say goodbye to Yugi for the day.  Whether it was the ice cream itself or the thought that he was going home to spend the rest of the day with Yami, Yugi’s spirits had raised just enough, and he beamed happily to Bakura as they left him outside his flat.  When they got home and toted everything upstairs, Grandpa Muto surprised the pair by taking a light jacket out of the front hall closet.  “It’s such a nice evening,” he said casually, “I think I’m going to take a nice long walk and stop by the market.  I know nobody’s hungry for dinner, but I have to think about tomorrow.”  He winked playfully to the boys.  “I could use the exercise.”

                “Are you sure, Grandpa?” Yugi wondered.  “I mean…Yami and I could sit with you and…”

                “I’m quite sure,” Grandpa assured, holding up a hand to stop him there.  “It’s going to be a pretty night, just right for walking.  It’s what I’m going to do, so I hope you two can find some way to entertain yourselves without me.  I have things to attend to.”  He grinned and donned his jacket, checking to make sure he had his keys.  “I don’t get to go out in the evenings very much, you know.”

                Yugi realized, then, just how cool his grandpa really was, and hugged him fiercely, murmuring, “Thanks, Grandpa.”  He saw him to the door, and turned to find Yami waiting for him, hands clasped behind his back and a gentle smile in his eyes.  Yugi smiled back, a little shyly.  “Well.  I guess we have…all the time we want, now.”

                Yami chuckled under his breath.  “If Grandpa wanted to get out of the house so we could have some uninterrupted private time, he just had to say so.  He already got plenty of exercise at the theme park today.”

                Yugi giggled.  “I know, but that’s Grandpa for you.  Well.”  He stepped up to Yami, tilting his head up to smile at him.  “Now that we have the house to ourselves, what do you want to do?”

                “Well, I’m too full of ice cream to want dinner,” Yami admitted, “and too tired to play any more games.  I think it may be time to take your mind completely off everything that has happened today.”

                “That’s an interesting way to put it,” Yugi purred.  He let himself be gracefully escorted to his bedroom, and took a moment to open the skylight to let the cool evening breeze into the room.  Before he could even remind his partner that there was supposed to be some kind of special present waiting for him, Yami took him into his arms and kissed him deeply, cradling him tenderly and pouring all of his heart and soul into the kiss until Yugi had absolutely no question about just how much their relationship meant to each of them.  He leaned against his partner and laid his head on his chest, feeling the pharaoh’s lean body expand with a sigh and his arms circle around his shoulders to hold him close.  He could feel lips softly nibbling at his temple and forehead and smiled to himself.  “So what do you have in mind?” he murmured.

                “You are the special one today,” Yami replied.  “I thought to give you everything you could possibly ask for, to shower you with the best treatment I can offer.”  He bent his head and said the rest sensually in Yugi’s ear.  “If you have any requests, then…”

                Yugi gasped as a thrill of anticipation rippled through his chest and down through his whole body.  “I’m sure you already know what I might want,” he shyly said.  “You know my mind so well.”

                “As long as you know.”  The pharaoh let go of him and took a step back, so he could bunch up the hem of his shirt in his fists and pull it swiftly off, leaving himself bare-chested and beautiful in front of his young lover with only the silver ankh pendant resting just below his throat.  “Just a word from you, and it’s yours.”

                “I trust you.”  Yugi grinned to himself, pleased by the shameless display and excited to see what was next.  Yami stepped back up to him and slid his hands around his waist, sneaking his thumbs up under the edge of his tank top to caress his flanks.  They didn’t linger long, though, gliding around front and reaching to unbuckle the two belts and undo Yugi’s jeans.  Yugi leaned a little into his partner as hands snuck into his jeans, around his ass, and deftly tugged them down.  Apparently, anticipation was foreplay enough.  Yami helped him out of his pants and briefs, and caressed his body lovingly as he turned him and encouraged him to sit down on the edge of the bed.  Yugi sat back, the Puzzle jingling to a comfortable position on his stomach, as Yami prowled before him and sank down to his knees.  Another gasp told him that Yugi understood what he intended to do, and agreed with it.  

Smiling indulgently, Yami slid his hands up along Yugi’s bare thighs to his hips and then waist, circling around him to pull him closer to the edge of the bed, so as to allow him the best position in which to work.  Yugi scooted forward and set his hands behind him on the bed, bracing himself for the goodness that was to come.  His cock even twitched in expectation, already feeling the heat of closeness and the draft of his partner’s breath as he leaned in close.  He began by kissing Yugi’s abdomen, gently, teasingly, from the hollow of one hip across to the other, all the while letting his fingertips brush back and forth along the small of Yugi’s back.  Just having him there in that position made Yugi hot and hard without the benefit of a single erotic touch yet, as he looked down at his partner settled in his lap.  He sat breathing heavily, face flushed, to see the pharaoh with his eyes closed trailing his lips slowly across Yugi’s abdomen.  At last, he lifted his head and gave his young lover a gentle yet seductive look through half-closed eyes, and brought one hand back around him to slide over his thigh to between his legs and stroke him delicately.  “You are so beautiful,” he murmured, admiring Yugi’s shape with his touch.  “I like being able to touch you for real…even if it isn’t new to me any longer…”

                Yugi smiled bashfully, though he was breathing too hard to form a response.  It didn’t require one, anyway – if Yami wanted to whisper sweet nothings about his body through every step of their lovemaking, Yugi sure wasn’t going to stop him.  He just watched, forcing himself not to jerk in surprise, as Yami held his growing erection in place and bowed his head to favor it with a long, teasing lick.  It was merely the start of a prolonged session, as Yami patiently kissed, tasted, and sucked him to hardness and took his time bringing him to release.  Yugi eventually fell back onto his elbows, unable to hold himself up any longer, as his lover kept working at him, tongue and lips soft and steady as if working the ice cream cone he had enjoyed earlier.  At last, he took Yugi into his mouth and suckled him to completion, holding on with his arms around Yugi’s hips while the young one threw his head back and cried out with every gasping breath the closer he came.  It was almost too much, the way Yami kept pushing, not aggressive, just enough to tease and build until finally Yugi thrust into his mouth and came, his whole body recoiling.  Yami caught him and swallowed, and then licked him clean, while Yugi flopped onto his back to catch his breath.  The Puzzle fell down beside him, beneath his arm.  It wasn’t until he’d started to regain his senses that Yami pushed himself up and leaned over him, smiling down at him before helping him out of his shirt and then kissing him hotly.  The salty taste on his lips made Yugi moan softly.  The pharaoh chuckled deeply.  “I trust that was a nice start to the evening?”

                Yugi just mumbled incoherently in response.  He looked up hazily to find Yami straightening up rather than sprawling down beside him and continuing.  “What?” he wondered.  “Yami?”

                Yami smiled cheerily.  “I just thought it was time to give you your present.”

                “Ohh…”  Feeling a little bashful for some reason, Yugi sat up and wrapped his arms demurely around his naked body.   Maybe it was the heated way his lover was staring down at him.  “All right.  What is it?”

                The pharaoh turned and went to the desk  nearby, where Yugi had deposited all of the bags and packages from his friends.  At some point in the day, Yami’s gift had made its way surreptitiously from someone’s handbag into one of the gift bags Yugi had already looked through, so he would never find it until now.   Yami dug in and pulled out a fistful of pink tissue paper, and returned to the bed to present it ceremoniously to his young love.   “I wish I could have been as sentimental as your friends and Grandpa, considering the big day,” he explained, “but I will freely admit, I only had one thing on my mind.  I asked Mai to pick it up for me, since she knew where to go to find it.”

                Yugi could feel a small, hard object somewhere inside the tissue paper, and peeled it away to find a glass vial with a pink label.  He read it and began to grin widely.  “Massage oil?  From Aya’s!  Yami!”  He laughed.  “That’s it, I’ve totally corrupted you.  You’re not a proud, noble pharaoh anymore, you’re just like all the rest of us guys – a mind on sex.”

                Yami shrugged one shoulder casually, not denying it.  “So I’ve become a hedonist,” he purred.  “Or perhaps I was all along, and just needed you to bring it out of me.”  He cocked his head in interest.  “What do you think?  Do you like it?”

                Yugi glanced at the label again and smiled sweetly.  “Rose scented, huh?  That’s still pretty romantic.”  He tossed away the tissue paper and crooked his finger to encourage his lover to join him on the bed.  “I think you need to show me how it works.”

                “I’ve been told, it’s not just for massages.”  Yami stepped closer, running his fingertips along Yugi’s jaw to tilt his head up, and smiling down at the happy light in his partner’s eyes.   After the upsetting exchanges that afternoon, it was nice to see him glowing as brightly as he had earlier, before things got dark.   He stood for a moment stroking his fingertips along Yugi’s neck and jaw, basking in his smile, before offering his hand.  Yugi placed his in it, and was directed to reach up and unbutton Yami’s pants for him.  The pharaoh stood back like a concubine, hips tilted forward, while his lover slowly unwrapped him like the rest of the present, leaving him naked and ready.  Only then did he kneel on the bed beside Yugi, helping him to lie down normally so they could find out just how useful the massage oil was.

                At this point in their relationship, Yugi and Yami had completely lost track of how many times they had made love to each other, in what positions, on what nights, with what extras to make it hotter.  Yet, every single time was something to Yugi, no matter if he was being patiently romanced or just being taken hot and fast.  As Yami laid himself out beside him, partially on top of him, and kissed him for a very long time, Yugi knew this would be just as special, in its own way.  As kisses and hands roamed all over his body, chest and stomach and thighs, he could only think of Yami, being with him, touching him, feeling him inside, looking into those violet eyes and knowing that he was loved.  It didn’t matter how long it took to arouse him a second time, or what was being done, he loved every second of it and vocalized it with every breath.   By that time, he had completely forgotten all about that afternoon and being upset, all that mattered to him was Yami – not the pharaoh, as Yugi had suggested, but the young man who loved him, who wanted and needed him and was doing his very best right now to express it through his entire body.  Hands tangled in each other’s hair, kisses seeking out patches of sweaty skin that might have been missed the last time through, they sprawled out together and brought themselves to tingling arousal before Yami finally uncapped the vial and let the subtle scent of roses steal through the room.  Yugi breathed deeply and sighed happily, thinking of the roses he had been given for his birthday a year ago.  Then, he wasn’t thinking about anything, because oiled fingers had just penetrated him and were stroking inside him.

                It was the kind of night to take things slowly, to face each other and entwine their fingers and not rush to the climax.  The rose scent surrounded them as Yami prepared and then pushed inside, finding the oil a much more interesting substitute to the norm.  He had to consciously restrain himself from just plunging in and forcing them both to come as quickly as possible, he didn’t want it to end and knew he had to take conscious control over his raging body lest it all be over before it got really good.  He started slow and sweet, making each thrust linger, letting Yugi feel it all the way to the tips of his toes.  He waited until he heard the demand:  “harder,” Yugi breathed, “faster.”  Only then did Yami push, though his idea of faster was still a torturously gradual escalation of pace.  It was a good thing they were alone in the house, because by that time Yugi was crying out without restraint, completely abandoned to pleasure and thinking of nothing else.  Yami wrapped his arms around his young lover’s body and pulled him into himself, quickening at last to the final stretch.  Not too long after and Yugi grabbed hard onto the arms holding him, bracing himself against the waves of orgasm building and breaking through him.  Eyes shut tight, tears on his lashes, he gave one more cry as he came and felt his partner release a moment later.  They held, panting and trembling, and then it was over, and they folded into each other.

                Exhausted and sweaty, both decided that lying together with arms around each other for a long, silent time was just what they needed after such prolonged and intense lovemaking.  Once they calmed, and laid so that Yami could hold Yugi in his arms with his head on his shoulder, all that was left was a quiet room filled with the scent of roses.  Outside, beyond the skylight, a bird chirped somewhere and a light breeze made the leaves of the tree next to the house rustle comfortingly, but that was all they could hear.  It was such a peaceful, blissful moment, neither wanted to move or speak and end it.  It was nice just to be together, to stroke arms or chests or necks or cheeks with light fingertips and occasionally press a tender kiss to a temple or cheek.  Every long, contented sigh from Yugi made Yami chuckle very slightly, but there was nothing that they needed to say to each other.  After a good, long rest, during which it seemed Yugi was getting sleepy, Yami twisted around to look at where they had set the vial of rose oil on the headboard shelf.  He pondered the words on the label for a while, and finally broke the deep silence between them.  “Perhaps,” he began in a placid murmur, “I could do one more thing for you.”

                “Hmm?” Yugi wondered, opening his eyes and lifting his head.

                Yami stroked his cheek and kissed him sweetly on the lips.   “After such a long day, and all that walking, you must be tired.  Perhaps I could test to see if the ‘massage’ part of your present is applicable.”

                “Mmm?”  Yugi glanced to see him studying the vial of oil, and smiled as Yami took it down from the shelf.  “I thought you were supposed to start with the massage and then make love after.”

                Yami chuckled again.  “A massage doesn’t always have to be purely to segue into sex,” he noted.   “Wouldn’t you feel good if I rubbed your back?”

                “What about you?”  Yugi curled up against him and nuzzled his neck.  “You walked around all day, too…”

                “My body has only been in existence less than twenty-four hours,” the pharaoh reminded him, “it could not possibly go through enough stress in that time to require a massage.  Yours, however, is twenty years old.”  He kissed his lover again and then began to work himself free, regardless of whether he was going to get permission to treat Yugi to a massage.  “Come, let me do this for you.”

                “Oh, all right,” Yugi sighed, picking up the Puzzle so he could roll safely onto his stomach.  He felt Yami slide a leg over him and settle down to a seat on his thighs, and giggled a little to feel certain parts at rest in certain places.  The pharaoh gave a similar chuckle, as the thought crossed his mind at the same time, but there was no need to get themselves worked up again.  This was for Yugi, to relax him and put the perfect cap on a mostly perfect birthday.  He poured a small amount of oil into the palm of his hand and set the rest aside, rubbing his hands together and then pushing them up the length of Yugi’s back.  Yugi let out a low groan and closed his eyes, going limp with his arms at his sides.  Yami certainly did have strong hands, he noticed, as those hands rubbed circles across his back and kneaded his shoulders.  He hadn’t realized how tense he was until the massage began, and now just laid in silence while Yami worked out the knots with his thumbs and spread the oil from his fingers all down his partner’s body.  From the back of his neck to the tip of his tailbone, Yami prodded and rubbed until Yugi became even more sleepy, blinking hazily and heaving long sighs at the feeling of being pampered so.   At last, figuring he had gotten every inch of his lover’s upper half, Yami climbed off him and laid next to him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him back into his chest.  The rose oil was not sticky, and absorbed into Yugi’s skin quite nicely, leaving him cooled and relaxed and dreamy as he felt himself being cradled in protective arms.  He whispered, “Thank you,” and received only a purr in reply before they fell into another long, peaceful silence.  Yami held him and kissed his moist, scented skin until Yugi fell asleep in his arms, at which he just settled for lying with him and watching him doze.

                It had been such a strange day, Yami mused to himself while Yugi slept.  From elation to depression and back again, his poor partner had been through so much.  What he had said to Kaiba at lunch, about the secret tears Yugi let no one else see, seemed so much more poignant now.  To those on the outside, Yugi led a relatively happy and carefree life, but it wasn’t always so.  Conflicts like the one at the park today hurt him worse than any mundane issues of finances or employment or whatever else normal people considered a bad day.  Yami combed back the bangs drooping across Yugi’s face in order to study him, to see how beautiful he was in slumber.  He was twenty, now, but he still seemed so youthful and fragile, proving that age was just an arbitrary marker of life’s twists and turns.  Yet, Yami had been with him long enough to notice the changes.  Yugi was even slightly taller, now, than the first day he had solved the Puzzle.  There was just enough maturity in his round, adorable face to assure onlookers he was no mere high school student anymore.  His naked body showed even more maturity, with just enough muscle on his slender arms and chest, his trim stomach, and no small cock lying at rest across his thigh at the moment.  The pharaoh smiled to himself.  This was his vessel, his Yugi, grown to adulthood but still retaining his youth and innocence, as it should be.  Truly, apart from the specific genetic markers that gave him his own features, his wide, smiling eyes, petite nose, and soft lips, he had become the modern incarnation of the pharaoh.  Yami had never felt so proud of him, simply for existing.  He snuggled against Yugi and nuzzled the back of his neck, content to hold him all night if that was what it took.  He would never let anything come between them, and if he had anything to say about it, nothing would ever hurt Yugi the way his friends had ever again.  He closed his eyes and sighed.  Never again.

                Yugi dozed for a short time but awoke around sunset, feeling first that there was a nice, cool breeze coming in from the skylight to counter the warmth of his room and the body curled up against him.  He purred and blinked his eyes open, only to hear an amused chuckle in his ear.  “You’re awake.”

                Relaxed and happy, Yugi stretched, allowing his naked buttocks to brush against the cock behind him.  “How long was I out?” he murmured, wrapping his arms around the ones clasped about his chest.

                “Maybe an hour, if that.”  Yami nuzzled him behind his ear.  “I didn’t know if you intended to sleep the night away, but I wasn’t going to disturb you.”  Another chuckle.   “You’re adorable when you sleep.”

                Yugi blushed and squirmed in his partner’s arms.  “M’not…”

                “You certainly are.”  The nuzzling became kissing, along the side of his neck and jaw.  “Did you want to get up?  Or are you done for the day?”

                “I kind of like where I am,” Yugi admitted, caressing one of the hands splayed across his chest.  “We don’t have to get up.  Mmm…we didn’t use up all the massage oil, did we?”

               “No.  There’s still quite a bit left.  I only used perhaps a quarter of the bottle.”  Yami lifted his head to give his partner a curious look.  “Why?”

                “Just wondering.”  Yugi turned in his arms enough to nuzzle him back and give his cheek a kiss.  “That means we can use my present a couple more times before it’s all gone.  That’s good.”

                The pharaoh squeezed him lovingly.  “Does that mean you like it?”

                “It’s wonderful.  Thank you.”  Yugi laid his head back on his pillow.  “Not every gift has to be sentimental.  It was something you and I could share together, privately, and that means enough.”  He giggled under his breath.  “Where did you get the idea?  Or did you just tell Mai to pick something up at Aya’s and leave it to her?”

                “From Marik,” Yami freely admitted.  “Or, well, Bakura and him.  Wasn’t this what Bakura said he had gotten Marik before he left?”

                “Oh yeah…”  Yugi smiled and nestled back against Yami’s chest.  “That was a good idea.”

                Yami’s hands caressed across his body as they laid there unwilling to tear themselves apart, extending the day and their private time to its limits.   There was no sound in the house beyond the door to indicate whether Grandpa Muto had come back from the market yet, but either way, the sun was only just setting, meaning they still had time left in the day for each other if they so desired.  And apparently, they did desire, for Yami’s hands continued to roam lower and lower until one brushed against Yugi’s cock, and decided to stay there for a while, fondling and massaging him with a hand made soft by the rose oil until Yugi responded.  They had enough energy left to make love one more time, in pretty much the same position they were already in, before finally dragging themselves out of bed to hit the shower after night had fallen and Grandpa had definitely returned.  He hadn’t heard them the last time, figuring they had gone to sleep, so it surprised him to see them creep out of the bedroom barely wrapped in some semblance of pajamas and disappear into the bathroom.  They wished him a good night and returned to their room afterward, fresh and clean, tossing aside their pajama tops in favor of bare-chested snuggling.  They curled up in each other’s arms under just a thin sheet to kiss and caress each other until midnight crept up on them.  Yugi sighed and laid his head on Yami’s chest, so many things swirling about his head that he wanted to say to his lover, but none of them would come out.   In the end, he figured Yami would find out about them when he returned to the Puzzle and had access to Yugi’s mind again, so he remained silent and just let himself be held and cared for.  Above all, Yami had taken away his fears and made him to feel loved again, and for that, he was grateful beyond words.  At last, the ritual came to its closing seconds, and Yugi whimpered, for once not wanting Yami to leave him.  The pharaoh hugged him tightly and kissed him before placing his lips beside his ear.  “Sleep well, my love,” he whispered.  “I will be with you.  I’m glad I get to be the last one to say happy birthday.”

                “Thank you,” Yugi whispered back.  “I love you, Yami…”

                “I love you too.”  He had just enough time for a tender smile before the ritual ended and his body ceased to be.  Yugi closed his eyes and sighed forlornly, and then cradled the Puzzle to his chest.  He usually took it off after midnight, but not this time.  He needed to feel Yami with him to the very end.

                A couple of days passed and the gang seemed to have fallen back into their usual routine without a second thought to any issues that had riled them all up in the middle of the birthday party.  Yugi still had flashes of thought to it, but his spiritual partner assured him that there was nothing they could do except wait for Téa to think it through and come to them.   And if she didn’t, if that was the last they would ever hear from her, so be it.  They were all adults now, more or less, and it was time for them to make adult decisions like whether or not a friend’s change in lifestyle was worth ending the friendship over.   Yet, while Yami wisely counseled Yugi and the others more or less overlooked it, Téa was still fretting over it.  She would be leaving in a short time to go to Osaka for the summer and perform with a traditional dancing group, and then after that it would be back to New York for her regular semester of school, so if she wanted to see more of her friends or possibly make up for what she had done to them, it had to be now.  Was it enough time, though?  Had she thought enough about it?  She could only hope the answer was yes, as she told her family she had some errands to run and went out for a long walk one afternoon.

                Now that summer was in full swing, Duke Devlin’s game shop fairly screamed with activity, as kids came in looking for games to play and challenges to meet, what with the arcade games and dueling arenas available.  Téa sidestepped several rambunctious youngsters as she made her way inside and hunted around, expecting to see Duke somewhere among the crowd.  When she couldn’t spot him easily, she made her way to the register and asked the clerk whether he was available.  “Oh, yes, he’s downstairs in the dueling arenas,” she replied.  “One of them has gone on the fritz, he’s talking to the repair guy.  Would you like me to page him?”

                “Oh, no…”  Téa smiled amicably.  “I’ll just hang around for a bit, it’s nothing urgent.  Thanks.”

                She had made the rounds of the store checking out the new arcade setup, which she hadn’t seen before, and watched some kids play on the DDR stage before Duke finally came up from the sub-level arenas, looking a bit frazzled.  He leaned against the main counter and talked briefly with the clerk, and then turned to find Téa standing right beside him, hands shyly clutching her purse in front of her.  “Téa,” he said with considerable surprise.  “Uh…what brings you here?”

                “Um…”  She scratched an imaginary itch on her cheek.  “Well…I kind of wanted to talk to Tristan.  But since he moved in with you, I don’t have his address or phone number now.  Is he, um, home?”

                Duke gazed at her suspiciously for only a moment, and then nodded.  “Yeah, he just got home from work,” he replied.  “I’m sorry, if I knew he’d been so dumb as to not even give you his new phone number, I would have made sure you had it.”

                “It’s okay,” Téa said with an uncomfortable shrug.  “I guess, he probably figured that would just have raised more questions that he couldn’t answer in a letter.”

                “You want to go up?”  Duke tossed his head toward the stairs that led up to his office and the flat beyond.  “He should be out of the shower by now.”

                Téa breathed a sigh of relief.  “Yeah, actually, that would be really nice,” she said politely.  “I do want to talk to him.  And you, I guess.”  She lowered her eyes.   “I owe you guys a major apology.”

                “It’s all right.  Hey, Aiko, I’m going upstairs for a bit.  If anything happens, buzz the office.  I’ll be down after I grab some dinner, all right?” Duke said to the girl behind the counter.  He turned and breezed away.  “Come on.   You haven’t been up to my apartment before, have you?”

                “Actually, no,” Téa realized.  “Just your office.”

                Duke led the way up to the office, and then through it to the door on the far side that separated it from his flat.  As they passed inside, they could hear clattering coming from the kitchen, pinpointing the current location of Duke’s partner.  Téa paused for a moment, letting Duke go ahead and peek in to see what he was up to.  He stopped in the doorway and laughed.  “What the hell are you doing?”

                “I’m making dinner, what does it look like?” came Tristan’s reply.

               “Damn.”  Duke gave another appreciative laugh.  “It’s about time you started pulling your weight around here.  Hey…”  He sobered.  “You got a minute?”

                “Why?”

                “Téa’s here.”

                Tristan suddenly appeared in the doorway, peering out to see Téa standing out of the way, still in a closed-off, shy stance with both hands on her purse.   He blinked in surprise and then softened.   “Hey, Téa.  What’s up?”

                “Nothing much,” Téa replied as casually as she could.  “Is this a bad time?  I could come back another day…”

                “Nah, it’s okay.”  Tristan came out of the kitchen with Duke tagging along just behind him.  “I’m just in the middle of making dinner – you want to stay?   Have dinner with us?”

                Duke thumbed towards him.  “He’s never done this before, just to warn you.”

                “Shut up, I’ve cooked before,” Tristan complained.

                Téa didn’t look so sure.  “Well…I just wanted to talk.  To, uh…apologize for the other day.”

                “Stay for dinner,” Tristan implored.  “We can talk, sure.  I always do better talking over dinner anyway.”

                “Yeah, stay long enough for dinner,” Duke added.  “I have to grab a bite and run back downstairs, I’m supervising until close tonight.”

                “Okay,” Téa relented.  She stepped a little further in, while Duke ducked into the kitchen to check on Tristan’s experiment and make sure he wasn’t about to blow everything up, leaving Tristan to handle his friend.  “So,” she began.  “You really did move in here, huh?”

                “Yeah,” Tristan said with a faint smile.  “I was sick of that rundown flat by the harbor, and trying to pay all my own bills.  I share expenses with Duke, we’re roommates on top of anything else.”

                “I guess it does make sense.”  She looked around a bit, though she had never actually seen Tristan’s old place and couldn’t tell at a glance what was his and what was Duke’s.   The place did look interesting, and had a touch of style to it that she figured could not have come from Tristan.

                “Hey, this is your job, not mine,” Duke called from the kitchen.  “Get in here and finish this.”

                Grinning, Tristan went to do as demanded, taking Duke’s place in front of the stove to see to the finishing touches on dinner.  It wasn’t anything complicated, just curry from a package, but Tristan was obviously taking it very seriously.  Téa stood in the doorway and watched the two young men circle around each other, getting what they needed and avoiding running into each other, tossing snarky quips at each other the whole time.  It was better to let them finish and get dinner on the table rather than try to interrupt them with serious talk, lest either of them get distracted and become a hazard to the other.  Within a few minutes, Duke was hurriedly fixing himself a bowl while Tristan saw to actually setting the table for himself and Téa, so they could all sit down for a few minutes.  “Sorry about that,” Tristan said as he pulled out a chair for Téa.  “You kind of caught me right at the tail end of cooking.”

                “It’s okay,” Téa assured him.  “It saves me having to worry about being late for dinner at home.   It looks good…”

                “Anybody can read a package,” Duke grinned.  “If you screwed this one up, I’d be laughing at you for a month.”

                “And doing all the cooking yourself,” Tristan reminded him.   “So?”  He sat and gazed at Téa before getting started.  “You came to talk?  Is this a good talk or a bad talk?”

                “An ‘I’m sorry’ talk,” Téa said quietly.   “I’m going to be out of town again before you know it, so I thought I ought to make up for my bad behavior at Yugi’s party first.  I was pretty mean to you guys, and I’m sorry.”  She looked back and forth between the two of them.  “I’m sorry if I offended you or hurt you.”

                Tristan folded his arms on the table, for once not diving into the food – though Duke was already busy wolfing down his quick dinner.  “Yeah, I have to admit, that did really hurt,” he said plainly.  “It hasn’t been easy for me, first coming to grips with the fact that I’m falling in love with another guy, and then trying to get everybody else to understand it too.  You can’t blame Yugi for it, it’s not his fault.   He’s never done anything except ask us to accept him as he is.”

                “I know,” Téa said ashamedly.  “That was really stupid of me.  I just…don’t know how to take all of this.  I don’t even know what I feel or what I think about it.  But I have been thinking.”  She glanced up as Tristan moved to serve them both, and Duke just sat listening and eating.  “I’ve been friends with you guys too long to break up over this.   The news may have taken me by surprise, but I don’t want to lose our friendship over it.  I just…”  She gave Tristan a helpless look.  “…want to understand.”

                “Funny,” Duke said, lowering his chopsticks.  “I was kind of thinking the same thing about you.”

                Téa prodded at her plate, keeping her gaze lowered.  “I don’t know why I freaked out.  I wish I could explain it.”

                “Do you really believe those things you said?”  Duke’s eyes were hard, but not angry.  “That we have some kind of sickness, and Yugi’s the one spreading it?”

                “No,” she answered, shaking her head firmly.  “I’m sorry I said that, I was wrong.”

                “You certainly were,” Duke said.  Tristan gave him a look but didn’t interrupt him.  “For starters, I leaned this way a long time before I met Yugi.   I’ve been bisexual since I knew what sex was.”  He shrugged off Téa’s shocked look.  “You guys always saw me hitting on girls in school, but I hit on guys just as much.  Just, not in full view of everyone.  Boy, girl, it doesn’t matter to me, I’ll take anyone sexy.”

                Tristan quirked an eyebrow at him.  “Then how’d you end up with me?”

                “Hell if I know.”

                Téa giggled at that, and immediately clapped her hand over her mouth to hide it.  “I didn’t realize that,” she said after collecting herself.  “You had the ‘ladies’ man’ reputation in school…”

                “Well yeah…I wasn’t going to let people find out about the rest.”  Duke made a face.   “I knew what would have happened to me.   I may not have a problem with who I am, but I’m not stupid.  I know it’s still not safe to go around flaunting it in public.”  He shared a wary look with Tristan.  “And it’s not just me.  Bakura said he’s been gay all his life, too.”

                “Really?”  Téa blinked at him.   “But…I thought he was just…shy, and effeminate.  I didn’t realize it meant anything.”

                “He is shy and effeminate,” Duke acknowledged.  “He also likes boys.  The two are mutually exclusive.”  He thumbed toward his partner.  “Tristan ought to be proof enough to you that you can’t judge a book by its cover.   There isn’t anything that makes you gay, you just are, or you can at least accept it to a point.  You can’t look at someone and just know.”  He picked up his bowl and made to finish off his dinner.  “Most of the time, anyway.  There are some guys who just play into the stereotype, I’ve got nothing to say about that.”

                “Yugi’s got nothing to do with this, Téa,” Tristan added.   “He doesn’t look or act ‘gay’ any more than I do.  You saw us at the park, right?  Was there anything about me or Duke or Bakura that made you think, ‘hm, he’s acting kind of weird, he’s not the same as I remember?’  Before you found out, anyway.”

                “Well, no, but…”

                “I know we messed up, in keeping it from you until now,” he went on.  “But you’ve got to understand.  It’s really hard.  Duke has it easier than me, he admitted this about himself a long time ago.  I’m still working to accept it.  That makes it ten times harder to tell other people and ask them to accept it.   It’s not like I’m running around bragging that oh, I’m gay now, everybody deal with it.”  He poked at the rice on his plate.  “I still don’t think I am.  I just happen to be in love with another guy.”

                Téa peered at him thoughtfully.  Between bites, she asked, “What about Serenity?”

                “Old news,” Duke replied with a shrug.  “Over and done with.”

                “It stopped being about Serenity a long time ago,” Tristan sighed.  “I’m over her.”

                “Does she know?”

                “Yeah, we told her ourselves,” Tristan nodded.  “She came to visit Joey one weekend a couple months ago, and we decided to tell her.  It was just after I moved in, here.”

                Téa made an uncomfortable face.  “That’s unfortunate, because the last time I talked to her, at Christmas, she told me she was hoping for a chance to go out with you, Tristan.”

                Both boys sat up with wide eyes.  “She did?”

                “Damn,” Duke muttered.  “No wonder she looked so shocked when we told her.  She did want you to go out with her and Joey and Mai, that night.”

                “Aw, man.”  Tristan shook his head.  “I don’t know what to say.  It was already too late, I think – Christmas night was our first date.  Sort of.”  He gave Duke a wry smile.  “I was already kind of crushing on you, I think.”

                “I kind of sensed that,” Duke smiled back.  “Why do you think I hit on you?”

                “So, Duke was the one who asked you,” Téa repeated for confirmation.

                They both nodded, but Duke was the one who explained.  “I didn’t ask him out because I wanted to have sex with him,” he said bluntly.  “I asked him out because I was starting to have feelings for him.  I thought he was sweet and kind of cute, and the friendlier we got with each other, the more it seemed like a good idea.”  He set down his empty bowl and leaned his arms on the table to address Téa directly.   “What you may not realize, Téa, is that I love Tristan.  A lot.  Enough to want to share my home with him.  We’re not with each other because we’ve decided we prefer men and gave up on women, it’s only about the feelings we have for each other.”   His eyes darkened.  “So when you said those things the other day, you didn’t just hurt Yugi.  You hurt all of us.   You treated your friends like lepers.  It’s already hard enough bucking all of society, without having someone we care about treat us with the same kind of hatred.”

                “I don’t hate you!” Téa insisted.  “It’s just…I don’t understand.  I’m sorry for hurting you, I really am.  I didn’t mean to.  I just lashed out, whatever stupid things were going on in my head, it just all came out.”

                Duke nodded seriously.  “I kind of guessed, but that didn’t make it any better.  It really bothered me, not so much that you insulted me, but that you hurt Yugi and Tristan.  They’ve been your friends a lot longer than I’ve been in the picture, and I felt bad for them.”

                Téa stared down at her plate again.  “You’re a really sweet guy, Duke,” she murmured.  “Tristan must have seen that a lot sooner than I could.”

                Duke shot his partner an adoring smile.  “Yeah, I think he did.  He gave me a chance, and I’m glad he didn’t turn me down.”  He sighed shortly.  “Well, I hate to have to get up and run in the middle of this, but I really do need to get back downstairs.  You guys go on and keep talking.”  He got up, taking his dishes with him, and leaned over to kiss Tristan on the cheek as he breezed past.   “You did good.  I take back everything I said about your cooking.”

                “Yeah, thanks,” Tristan snorted, though with a smile.  He watched Duke disappear into the kitchen and reemerge a second later, waving to them as he passed and vanished through the office door.  Only then did Tristan return his attention to Téa, who was trying to eat in between all the talking.  “You’re right, he is a sweetheart,” he confessed.  “He just hides it under that smug act.  He hasn’t had it easy, growing up, he does it to keep people at a distance.”

                Téa glanced thoughtfully at the closed office door, and then back at her friend.  “You’ve gotten to know him that well, have you?”

                “There’s a lot about Duke nobody knows except me,” Tristan said with a nod.  “Bet you didn’t even know Devlin isn’t his real last name.  It’s a pseudonym, for the business.  Kind of like a stage name.”

                “Wow…no, I didn’t know that.”  Téa gazed at him for a long moment, studying him.  Tristan had always been the big, manly type among her group of friends, and was even more so now that he was twenty and a construction worker.  The increase in muscle mass seemed so much more marked because she went six months to a year at a time between visits with him.  To hear him expressing his care for Duke confused her all the more.   “So…how long was it before you…knew?”

                “What, that I liked him?”  Tristan savored a bite and sucked on his chopsticks for a moment.  “First time, actually.  I was a little nervous about him hitting on me, because I never even thought about guys that way before, but…there was something already there.  I kind of felt it before that night, but I didn’t let myself accept it until he came to me, and from there it was just…full speed ahead.”  He shrugged.  “To be fair, we didn’t tell anybody else right away, either.  We dated for a couple months, decided to see each other exclusively around Valentine’s Day, and a couple weeks after that we finally told everybody.”

                Téa cocked her head curiously.  “How did Joey take it?”

                “He was a little weirded out at first, but he handled it just fine,” Tristan said proudly.  “He saw it the same way I did – that we’ve been saying all along that we accept Yugi and will back him up, so it was only logical that that would extend to me, too.   Or anybody else for that matter.  It really is easier to understand when you have a friend who’s gay, and can see things from his perspective.”

                Téa shook her head slowly, sadly.  “I think that’s where it all went wrong, for me.  I haven’t been here so to me, you were still the same guys I knew in high school, with the same habits and dreams.  I don’t have any actual gay friends at school, the only ones I know are real jerks.”  Tristan raised an eyebrow, prompting her to explain.  “They’re on the extreme end of the stereotype,” she complained.  “They do drugs, and spend all night clubbing or going to bars and sleeping around, and are always bragging about it when we’re supposed to be at rehearsals and stuff.”

                “So you thought, if the rest of us had ‘turned gay,’ that we were going to start acting like that?” Tristan said incredulously.  Téa only nodded.  He let out a long sigh.  “Wow.  I thought you knew us better than that, Téa.”

                “Well, what was I supposed to think?” she worried.  “That’s the only contact I’ve had with gay men…”

                “No, it isn’t,” he said plainly.  “You’ve been friends with Bakura for years, and Duke.  They’re perfectly nice guys who like to have fun and have responsible lives with school and work…and they happen to like sleeping with other men.  Not to mention, Yugi’s relationship with Yami was going on a lot longer than any of us knew,” he added.  “We’re normal people, Téa.  We’re not like those guys at your school in New York, they’re just one example of how you can live.  I’m sure there’s a ton of straight people who do drugs and sleep around just as badly, so it’s not like their sexual preference makes them freaky party types.”

                Téa faced him squarely to ask him something that had been nagging at her all along.  “You are having sex with Duke, right?”  He nodded, unashamedly.  “How?  I mean…how can you like it, if you always liked girls?”

                “I don’t know,” Tristan answered honestly.  “I just do.  It’s not bad.  But Téa…it’s not about the sex.”  He leaned on the table to give his argument emphasis.  “I’m not in this relationship for the sex, I love Duke.  I’ve never felt the same way about anyone else, and I’m at the point where I don’t care that he’s a guy.  He came to me, he said he wanted me, no one else ever said that to me before in my whole life.”  He lowered his eyes and grew serious.  “A few months ago, one of his employees went off the deep end, when he found out Duke was dating me.   Said it would look bad for the store or something.  He had a couple of his friends break in one night and trash the place, spray-paint graffiti about fags…and they beat the crap out of Duke.”  Téa gasped sharply, but didn’t stop him.  “I spent the whole day here with him, taking care of him, until he finally made me go home and get some sleep.  But I couldn’t sleep, I laid awake all night thinking – worrying that they were going to come back and finish the job, and kill him, worrying that he was going to break up with me because he didn’t want to see me get hurt like him.  I couldn’t do that, I wanted to stay with him, I refused to let something like that scare me away.  And that was when I knew I really loved him – with all my heart.  The sex really didn’t matter.”

                “I didn’t know,” Téa breathed.  “Is he all right?”

                “Yeah, he’s fine now,” Tristan assured.  “Everything’s back to normal.  But you see?  I’m not like those people you know in New York.  Neither is Yugi.  Our relationships are about love the same way Joey and Mai’s is.  Duke and I have been through a lot together, way before this started.  Dealing with friends and family accepting me isn’t nearly as wild as being trapped in a virtual world or getting dragged into shadow games, but it’s still a hard road, and I’m glad he’s there with me for all of it.”

                Téa gave him a soft smile.  “You really have changed, Tristan.  For the better.”

                “Nah,” Tristan demurred, “I’m still the same old Tristan you and Joey and Yugi hung around with.  The only thing that’s different is I’m older, and working some things out for myself.”

                “That’s what I mean.”  She rested her elbows on the table and gazed at him for a moment.  “You’re different in a good way – you’re thinking things through, making decisions for yourself even if they’re hard.  You’re living with someone you love.  Even if your heart is still you, that’s enough of a change to be startling to someone who hasn’t seen you in a while.”

                “I guess,” Tristan shrugged.  “I never really looked at it that way.  People always change over time, you just never notice it because you’re going through it so slowly and it doesn’t feel like a change to you.  It must seem that much more drastic to you because you’re not here every single day with us anymore, like Yugi and Joey.  A gradual evolution to them would be an obvious change to you.”

                “That’s right,” Téa nodded.  “And I think that’s why it bothered me so much.  Not that I have anything against you personally, or against Duke or Yugi, just that…I was completely surprised.  I haven’t been able to be here to watch you slowly change.”

                “That’s just the way life is,” Tristan said honestly.  “You’re in New York chasing your dream, I’m not going to take that away from you.  People move, and grow apart, friendships change, it’s a fact of life.  I wish you didn’t have to be so far away sometimes, but you are, so we’ll just have to deal with it.  I’m sorry if we seem like strangers to you,” he added more quietly.  “It wasn’t my intention.  And I didn’t intend to keep it a secret forever.  I wanted to tell you, but things kept coming up, I kept getting distracted, then we thought, ‘oh, she’s going to be at Yugi’s party, we’ll tell her there,’ but then the right moment never came up…”

                “That’s okay.  I don’t think there was any way to break this kind of news without shocking me just a little.”  Téa frowned to herself.  “You didn’t know that I was going to fly off the handle.  I bet you expected me to accept it, just like everybody else.  And I should have.  I can’t call myself your friend if I’m going to act like that when I find out your secrets.”

                “Yeah, I did kind of expect you to understand,” Tristan said sadly.  “You’ve always been the sweetest one in the group, always going on about friendship and stuff.   Yugi was worried, but I thought you and he just had something personal going on between you that had nothing to do with me and Duke.”

                Téa winced.  “Yeah, actually…I think that’s what it is.  It isn’t that I’m disgusted with your choice or hate you, it’s that…maybe I’m transferring some of that onto you.  It wasn’t right, I’m sorry.”

                “You and Yugi have to work that out yourselves.  Meanwhile…”  Tristan chanced a smile.  “We’re not all turning wacko on you.  Some things about our lives may have changed, but inside, we’re still the same guys you loved and miss while you’re away at school.  We’ve grown, but so have you.  You’re being changed by school and living in the States, as much as we’re being changed by our lives and relationships.  I think we all have to do better to keep in touch and talk to each other, to share our lives even if we’re so far apart.  Then you don’t have to be afraid of us changing on you when you’re not looking.”

                “Yeah.”  Téa quieted for a bit, concentrating on finishing her dinner, which was actually quite good.  After a bit, mulling it over, she set aside her plate and fixed Tristan with a peaceful look.  “I guess I’ve just been clinging to the way things used to be in high school, because New York and school are so different.  I come home in the hopes of finding all the old, familiar things to comfort me, but they’re gone.   Even the arcade we all used to go to is closed.  You guys have grown and moved on, and I have too, but some part of me wishes it was all like it used to be.”

                “One thing is,” Tristan reasoned.  “The most important thing:  that we love you, and we’re all friends.  That’ll never change, unless you want to say farewell over this little thing.”

                “I don’t,” Téa said strongly.  “I want to still be friends.  I want to know every little thing that’s happening in your lives, even if I’m not here to go through it with you.”

                “Email works both ways,” Tristan grinned.  “I know school keeps you busy, probably moreso than Joey and I know he gets real busy.  But drop us a note sometime, catch up.  We want to share in your life, too, we want to know that you’re succeeding in dance school and going to be a big, famous performer on Broadway or Hollywood or something.  We’re gonna be the guys who can go ‘we knew her when.’”

                Téa nodded, biting her lip to quell the rush of tears to her eyes.  “I want that.”

                They finished up dinner and Téa gave her old friend a huge hug on her way out the door, asking him to pass along a message to Duke as well when he got off work later.  “I wish you guys all the happiness in the world,” she said, clinging to Tristan’s shoulders.   “I really do.”

                Tristan let her go and smiled.  “Thanks, Téa.  That means a lot to me.”

                “I’m sorry I have to run, but I have one more important errand to take care of tonight.”  Téa smiled on her way out the door.  “Something I can’t leave undone for another day…”

                Yugi heard the jingle of the door to the game shop and looked up from the inventory list he had been perusing, his eyes going wide.  “Téa!”

                Téa stood in the doorway of Kame game shop, in the same demure posture as she had greeted Duke, clutching her purse in front of her with both hands.   If possible, she looked even more timid and afraid.  “Hi, Yugi,” she said quietly.  “Is this a bad time?”

                “No, it’s okay.  It’s kind of slow tonight.”  Yugi set down the list and came around the counter to welcome her in.  “What’s up?”

                Téa bowed her head so low that he couldn’t see her eyes.   “I wanted to say I’m sorry,” she murmured, “for everything.  Everything I said at your party, and at Christmas.  I always thought of myself as the perfect friend, but I’ve been horrible to you, for no other reason than I’m jealous and I don’t understand your preference.  It’s no excuse, and I apologize.”  She bowed slightly.  “I hope you can forgive me.”

                Yugi came closer, but stopped an arm’s length away, unsure.   “Of course I forgive you,” he said softly.  “You’re my friend, Téa, and never stopped being my friend.  I just don’t understand why you would say those things to me.”

                Téa lifted her head and bravely sniffled back her emotions.   “I just came from Tristan’s,” she explained.  “We had a long talk, and…I think I’m starting to understand.  I know it’s not your fault, you are just the way you are and you haven’t corrupted anybody else.  I don’t hate Tristan and Duke, or anybody else, I just took out my anger on them because it was easier than admitting that it scared me, to see all of you having these new lives and not letting me in on it.”  She turned slightly away from him.  “But more than that…I was jealous and angry because of you and the pharaoh, and I shouldn’t be.  It wasn’t fair of me to blame you, you didn’t do anything except be yourself.”

                A very slight smile found its way to Yugi’s face.  “So, you’re admitting it, now.  You’re jealous.”

                “It’s so stupid,” Téa complained.  “I’m jealous of you, not him.”

                “What?”  Yugi’s eyes shot wide.  “Me?  I don’t get it…”

                “The pharaoh is the one I always had the crush on,” Téa sheepishly confessed.  “But I could never say anything because he was just a spirit, he lived inside you, so I could never do anything with him without technically doing it with you.  But then, you came out with this ritual, so he could have his own body and exist in the world again – but instead of it being my chance to get closer to him, it dashed all hope because he already loved you and wanted to be with you.”

                Yugi clapped a hand to his forehead and reeled back.  “I had no idea…”

                “I’m sorry it happened the way it did, Yugi,” Téa went on, finally able to get it all off her chest.  “I know the ritual is just a happy accident, and you fell in love with him way before that, it was just a convenient excuse.  I couldn’t have him, so I got jealous of people trying to be with you, too, and I completely lost my head over the idea of you two being together.  I’ve been hoping, all this time, while I was away at school, that you would miss me and decide that you didn’t want a spirit for a boyfriend when you could pine after me, but…I was totally stupid.  You were living your life the way you wanted, while I expected you to be waiting for me.   It wasn’t fair of me, and it led to all of the rest of this.  If you don’t want to be friends anymore, I’ll understand,” she added morosely.  “I was awful.  I wouldn’t want a friend like me, either.”

                “Don’t be silly.”  Yugi came closer and set a hand on her arm, getting her to look at him.  “I know it must be hard for you.  I’m sorry if I was ever insensitive to it…”

                “No,” Téa said with a shake of her head.  “It’s not you, Yugi.  Don’t apologize, you’ve never done anything wrong.  It was all me.  I just…don’t want to go away for the summer, and then back to school in the fall, with this still between us.  I want to be able to let go and accept you for who you are.  And the pharaoh,” she added with a tentative smile.  “I guess I don’t know him as well as I thought I did.  I hardly know him at all, even though he’s always been there with you.”

                Yugi picked up the Puzzle in one hand and stroked his thumb over the Eye.  “He wants to talk to you,” he said after a moment’s pause.  “Is that okay?”

                “Yeah.”  Téa watched, feeling a twang of familiar comfort in her heart, as the Eye flashed for a moment and then Yami himself was looking at her through Yugi’s eyes.  Though they were becoming ever more similar, she could still tell it was him.   “Hi, pharaoh.  Yami,” she corrected herself.

                Yami smiled faintly.  “Téa,” he acknowledged in his low purr of a voice.  “I’m glad you came here to speak with Yugi.”

                “I wanted to speak to both of you,” she said.  “I owe you just as much of an apology as him.”  She averted her eyes to the floor.  “You heard what I said, about…me liking you…”

                “Yes.”  Yami set his hand on her arm, in the same way Yugi had.  “I’m flattered, but I don’t think it could have been the way you wished.  I have loved Yugi for a very long time, and you have always been just a friend to us.  I know he had a crush on you, when I first joined with him, but somewhere along the way that fell by the wayside.”

                “I know,” she sighed, “and I never gave him a chance, either.  Until after he was already with you, and I started to get jealous of anyone else wanting to be close to either of you.  The first time I saw you two together…”  She looked hurt.   “It turned my world upside down.  Yugi asked me to understand, and to accept him, but while I said I would, I never did.  Instead of thinking it over, and letting him go, I clung to the idea of him coming to his senses and wanting a real person instead.  But that wasn’t fair to you.”  She gave him an awkward look.  “You are a real person.”

                Yami sighed deeply.  “Téa,” he began patiently, “I love Yugi to the depth of my soul.   He is the love of a lifetime…the love of two lifetimes, for me.  I don’t know what our future holds, but I will stay with him until the end.  All we have ever wanted from our friends is acceptance, that we are meant for each other and have each other’s best interests at heart.  While I thought you were concerned that I was leading him astray, I see now that you were worried about him corrupting me.”  A smile curved his lips.  “I assure you, that isn’t the case at all.  Yugi is the light of my soul, I would do anything for him.  I will always protect him, whether from the shadows or the slings and arrows of the world.”

                “I know you will,” Téa nodded.  “I always trusted you with Yugi, becaus