Roll The Die

Serenity steps off the train. Looking up, she takes in the view of Domino City from the station. Her hazel eyes bright and a smile on her face, she thinks about the surprise and joy that will come to her brother's face when she sees him.

"Huh...?" Tristan wonders aloud, taking a second look. His eyes widen as he realizes who the girl is who's standing on the platform. "Serenity! Serenity, remember me? It's Tristan!" He shouts, arms waving as he runs toward her.

Serenity rolls her eyes as she grins. Only a minute, it seems, since she stepped off the train, and already Tristan Taylor has spotted her. "Hey, Tristan," she greets. "What are you doing here?"

Tristan takes a minute to catch his breath, leaning against a wall of the station, before answering. "I was seeing off my sister. She's going to Tokyo for a business trip. But what about you? Joey didn't tell me you were coming today."

"Oh. That's because he doesn't know, yet." Serenity leans toward Tristan, whispering, "I wanted to surprise him. - It's a secret."

"Oh! - Serenity!"

"Whi?" Serenity turns her head, long mahogany hair soaring into the air around her. Glancing through the crowd, she notices Duke rushing toward her.

"Hi, Duke," she greets pleasantly. Behind her, Tristan sneers at the near-Goth teen.

"I didn't know you were coming to Domino today... Surprising your brother?"

"Uh-huh," Serenity nods vigorously.

"Say, you want to get him something? I know a nice little store just a little way down the road..." Duke tells her, beginning to lead her in that direction.

"You wouldn't want to get Joey something from there, Serenity. I know a much better store this way." Tristan takes her hand to guide her in the opposite direction.

"Ah..." Serenity udders confusedly.

"But, Serenity, this store sells good Duel M-" Duke pauses when his cell phone starts ringing, answering with, "Hello. Devlin here." He turns away from the two teens. "Good. Have the paperwork drawn up by Monday. ... Uh-huh... Yes, I thought as much. ... Actually, I was thinking-"

Serenity glanced behind her, at Duke, as Tristan led her away.

---

Serenity carefully folds a tee-shirt as Yugi talks to her. "So, did you have a nice time with Joey this weekend?"

"Uh-huh," she replies with a smile. "He always seems so happy to see me."

"Of course he is. You're his little sister."

Serenity laughs as she puts the now-folded shirt in her suitcase. "Not every boy gets along so well with their sister." Serenity takes a moment to think, a faint smile on her lips. "Joey and I were always pretty close... It broke his heart when our parents divorced, splitting us up." Serenity glances toward the window, having heard something in that direction.

"Serenity!" Tristan's muffled voice shouts from the street. She sees him down there, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"I think Tristan wants to drive you to the station..." Yugi wearily tells her.

"He's such a nice guy... It's hard to believe he doesn't have a girlfriend, yet." Yugi tries to suppress a giggle as Serenity goes back to packing her things. "Hmm... I wonder where Duke is... Usually, if one is here, the other isn't far away."

"Well, Duke's been pretty busy lately, with the company and everything..."

"Duke has a company?" Serenity asks the short teen sitting on the couch.

"Yup," Yugi answers with a nod. "Have you ever heard of Dungeon Dice Monsters? He invented the game and it's becoming pretty popular, now."

"I had no idea..." Serenity admits as she puts the last article of clothing in her suitcase. She pictures Duke's striking green eyes as she locks her things in place. Her brother seems to take this as a cue, entering the room.

"I'm back," Joey announces.

"I think we could have figured that out on our own - especially since we saw you come in," Yugi tells his friend with a smile.

Joey smiles broadly. "Since it's my house, if I want to announce myself, I can," he replies with a shrug and leaps over the back of the couch to land beside Yugi. "So, what were you two talkin' about?"

"Well, Yugi said that Duke owns a company now," Serenity proclaims excitedly.

"Sis... Ya don't wanna get interested in that guy..." Serenity gives her brother a confused look. "I mean, I guess he's alright an' all, but I can't get this picture of 'im out 'a my head. See... When we first met, he was a real jerk. I had ta duel 'im ta teach 'im a lesson," Joey relates, giving his best macho look.

"Joey, that's not what happened!" Yugi contradicts between laughs. "Serenity, Joey dueled Duke, but lost. See, Duke owns this game shop, which was interfering with Grandpa's business. Joey challenged him to a duel: if he won, Duke had to close down his shop; but if Duke won, Joey had to wear a dog suit for a week." Serenity broke out in laugher.

"Err... Shuddup, Yuge!" Joey yelled. "My sista doesn't need ta hear this!"

Serenity stops laughing. "Please, Joey...?" Serenity begs.

Joey looks away, but mumbles, "Okay; fine..."

"What happened next, Yugi?" Serenity asks, her eyes shining brightly.

"Well, then I thought I should get Joey out of that mess. Duke insisted on us playing his Dungeon Dice Monsters game, so I couldn't cheat. - He had the idea that I cheated at Duelist Kingdom when I dueled Pegasus - which, of course, isn't true. I eventually won the game, but he was a hard opponent. After that, we became friends. Now, about his company, Pegasus and Duke are actually co-owners. Pegasus liked Duke's game and they agreed to be partners."

"It must be exciting to own a company..."

"I doubt it, sis. Remember, Kaiba has his own company, and look how dull and idiotic he is."

"Joey... That's not a nice thing to say about a person," Serenity chastens.

She doesn't say a word the whole trip home, thinking about how Duke was too busy to see her off and wondering when she can see him again. She has grown quiet fond of the man during her last few hours in Domino...

---

I decided to write this fanfiction without using the word say or said (except for in dialogue and narration... but I didn't even put the word after quotations once).

This is for a fanfiction pairing contest.

Hmm... I have no idea what Tristan's sister does. I just know she has a kid. (unless that was his cousin...)

Also, this is supposed to be in the future somewhere. I don't remember/know too much about Duke (or business), so, if I'm right and he doesn't have a company, then I'm saying that he might in the future.

Serenity's supposed to have a crush on Kaiba, or so I've heard. So, I figured that if Duke had some things in common with Kaiba, then Serenity might fall for him, too. (Duke doesn't need persuading.) She must like Kaiba for what she's heard about him, since she didn't meet the guy until Battle City and even then, they didn't say more than two or three words to each other.