A/N: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its characters.
Joey Wheeler was hanging out around Domino City with his friends, Yugi, Tristan, Téa and Bakura. They were walking through the less dense, more quiet part of the city, where alleys and dusty shops littered every corner. It had been a long time since the Pharaoh, king Atem, had left them to have his soul be at rest. Joey knew that it was for the better, the Pharaoh didn't belong in this world, but sometimes it was still hard to think that they'd never see him again. The memory of their ancient Egyptian friend would never fade, and his image still clung to the air whenever the gang was together.
"Joey?" asked Yugi, who had obviously seen him space out, thinking about the Pharaoh.
"Hm?" Joey turned towards him, realising that the whole gang was staring at him now. "Er, sorry. What were you guys talk'n about?"
"We were just talking about where we should go to eat." said Tristan.
"Right, er, well there's a doughnut shop over there." Joey said awkwardly, pointing towards a small shop with a pink sign with the words 'Dilly's Doughnuts' painted on it.
"Joey, we're not having doughnuts for lunch." Téa spoke, amusing annoyance in her voice.
"Why not? Doughnuts are for any occasion! Yugi thinks so, doesn't he?" Joey looked at Yugi.
"Um, I don't mind either way." Yugi decided to say with a glance at Téa.
"How 'bout you, Tristan?"
"I don't care where we eat, as long as I'm not the one paying." Tristan shrugged.
"Bakura, why don't you decide?" Yugi called to the white-haired boy who was lingering in the back of the group.
"Me?" Bakura perked up but kept his head low. "I saw a pizzeria over next to the produce store." His slight british accent spoke.
"Now we're talk'n!" Joey started to run up the street, waiting to hear footsteps as his friends would run after him.
"Joey, that's the wrong way!" yelled Téa.
Joey stopped and ran back towards them. "I knew that!" He panted as he ran past them again.
They arrived at the pizzeria and Téa ordered the food, as much as Joey and Tristan insisted they should order it instead, in the end Téa told them that if they wanted to choose what was ordered, they had to pay for it. This, of course, sent them back to the table.
"Good choice of eatery, Bakura." Tristan said through a mouthful of pizza.
"That's gross, Tristan." hissed Téa as Tristan ate sloppily.
"Pizza is pizza." Tristan took another slice.
"Such inspirational words, ya knucklehead." Joey teased. Yugi laughed.
Multiple people had noticed Yugi's presence, and were watching the gang intensely.
"Eh, anyone else notice the creepy stares we're getting?" Joey whispered.
"You know that's how it goes these days, Joey." Tristan reminded him.
"Yes, after all, Yugi beat Pegasus and Kaiba in the past, so obviously it would bring much publicity." Bakura pointed out.
"Not to mention Marik and that freaky Dartz punk." Joey agreed. Yugi stayed silent throughout this conversation.
"Yugi Muto!" someone in the pizzeria had the guts to call out. Almost everyone in the restaurant turned towards Yugi. Yugi gave a little laugh of awkwardness. "Uh, hi." and with that, nine or ten duelists rushed over to the table.
"Do you have any pointers for dueling?"
"Can I see the Dark Magician?"
"What kind of deck should I get?"
"Did you really beat Kaiba?"
"Are you really the world champion?"
"Can you duel for us?"
"Yeah, we wanna see you duel in person!"
The crowd of people started chanting "Duel! Duel! Duel!" over and over again.
"Sorry guys, I left my deck at home." Yugi stated, receiving many sounds of disappointment in return. Joey sighed when everyone returned to their seats. Because this happened so often, they couldn't carry their decks around whenever they wanted to. There was a chance that their cards could be stolen, and if not, people would beg them to duel. Even though Joey didn't get the same fame as Yugi, he left his deck with Yugi's grandpa to keep it safe.
"How come I don't get publicity? I was the runner up in Duelist Kingdom! I was in the top 4 at Battle City! I get no respect." Joey whined.
"Dueling isn't about fame, Joey." said Yugi.
"Of course you'd say that! You've got girls and wannabe duelists following you around everywhere ya go!" Joey roughly grabbed another slice of pizza and ate it angrily.
"Stop complaining! Look at me and Téa, we're not duelists, nobody recognizes us, and we're fine with it." Tristan nodded towards Téa.
"You two haven't fought duel after duel hoping that one day someone would notice you!" Joey clenched his fists.
"Your friends notice you! Are we not good enough for you, Joey?" Téa questioned him.
"No, I didn't mean that." Joey looked down.
"Then don't act so ungrateful." Tristan sighed.
Joey lifted his head to see Bakura taking the last slice of pizza. Bakura's face turned into one of surprise as both Tristan and Joey threw themselves at him and wrestled him to the ground, which didn't take much effort since Bakura recoiled and collapsed as soon as they touched him.
"Gimmie that pizza!" Joey shouted while Tristan yelled "Finders keepers!"
"Get off! Stop it!" Bakura struggled while trying to hold on to the food.
"Let him go, guys!" demanded Yugi. When they continued to wrestle with Bakura, Yugi's grandpa walked into the pizzeria, panting.
"Grandpa?" Yugi asked as Joey and Tristan stopped fighting Bakura. Out of the corner of his eye, Joey saw Bakura crawl to a corner and eat his pizza slice.
"I'm sorry, Yugi." Solomon Muto apologised.
"What's happened?" Joey asked, walking towards Yugi.
"Joey, I didn't mean for this to happen." Yugi's grandpa closed his eyes apologetically.
"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Yugi's eyes widened in worry.
"Someone snuck into my game shop and found your deck, Joey." Solomon answered.
"No!" Téa gasped.
"Someone stole my deck?" Joey froze and stared at the floor. My deck! All my cards. They've always been there for me, I have ta find them!
"Tell us exactly what happened." Tristan ordered Yugi's grandpa.
"I just left the room for a minute or two, and when I returned, Joey's deck was scattered all over the floor! I picked it up," Solomon hesitated, "but the Red-Eyes Black Dragon was gone!"
"Not Red-Eyes!" Yugi said.
Joey shook his head. "We have to get'em back!"
"But how?" Téa asked. "We have no idea who took it."
"Well," Yugi's grandpa pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, "there was this as well, among the scattered cards." He handed it to Joey. Yugi, Tristan, and Téa walked up behind Joey to read the note.
"If you want your Red-Eyes Black Dragon back, then meet me in the alley next to the abandoned bike rental tomorrow at 5:00 PM. Come alone."
Immediately Téa shook her head. "No way Joey, it's too dangerous."
"She's got a point, man. It's not worth the risk." agreed Tristan.
"Look, Red-Eyes has been there for me time and time again, and this time I'm going to be there for him." Joey argued.
"Joey, you can't go alone." Yugi told him.
"I have ta, Yug. Red-Eyes is count'n on me." Joey turned away from his friends' pleads.
Bakura walked up and read the note that was still clutched in Joey's hands.
"That's strange." Bakura remarked. Joey lifted his head questionly. "Well, why would someone only take the Red-Eyes if they had full access to Yugi's Egyptian god cards?"
"That's true." Yugi said.
"Maybe they knew that they couldn't control the power of those cards?" Tristen theorised.
"Even if someone couldn't use them, they could sell them, so they wouldn't be completely unuseful." Téa pointed out.
Joey realised that most of the people had left the restaurant now, and the few who remained continued to watch them.
"Let's go." Joey walked out of the facility. He heard a few chairs being moved back into place, and then footsteps as his friends- all accept Solomon, who was heading back to his game shop- followed him.
"What're we gonna do?" Joey heard Tristan speaking to Yugi. "Joey can't go by himself. It could be a trap!"
"Of course it's a trap, you punk. I'm not stupid." Joey responded, knowing that Tristan didn't mean for Joey to hear what he said.
"You could've fooled me. If you know it's a trap, then why're you going?" Tristan snapped.
"I told you, Red-Eyes needs my help!" Joey yelled.
"Don't put yourself in danger just for a card, Joey." Tristan walked in front of Joey and looked him in the eyes.
"'Just for a card'? Red-Eyes is not just a card! I won 'em from one of my first duels, and he's been with me through everything ever since!" Joey shoved Tristan to the side and walked a bit faster.
"He's being a idiot!" Joey heard Tristan talking to Yugi again. "Yugi, can't you talk some sense into him?"
"Tristan, Joey cares deeply for his card. They share a strong connection, and if Joey can feel the Red-Eyes calling out for him, then he won't abandon it." Yugi made Joey feel a bit better.
"So you're saying it's alright for him to just do as this anonymous guy tells him to do, and walk right into a trap without any precautions?" Tristan raised his voice a bit.
"No, I suppose that it is a bit risky. Not to mention reckless. Taking precautions couldn't hurt, either." Yugi sighed.
Bakura walked to Joey's side. "Joey, if you won't be careful for yourself, then at least be careful for your friends." As Joey turned to look at Bakura, he shrank back a bit. He must be afraid that I'll lash out. He stopped walking, and since he had been in front, everyone stopped walking as well. He looked at all his friends. What kind of jerk was he? He hadn't even been thinking about his friends' feelings and safety.
"Alright, fine." He decided. "I'm sorry. If you guys think you can help me get Red-Eyes back without walking into a trap, then I'll go along with it." Joey watched as his friends nodded.
They all hung around discussing what to do until the light faded and it got dark.
"Alright, we'll all meet at my grandpa's game shop tomorrow morning, agreed?" Yugi asked, receiving nods of agreement.
"See you then." Téa walked away.
"Right, bye." Bakura left as well.
"Later." Tristan also walked off.
Yugi turned to Joey. "We'll get through this, you just have to trust your friends, Joey. We want Red-Eyes back in your deck as well." and with a 'Bye', Yugi was gone.
Joey sighed and made his way towards his home. It felt wrong to not take action to find Red-Eyes right away. He remembered when he'd lost Red-Eyes to a rare hunter. Eventually, Yugi had tracked him down and beat him in a duel, winning the card back. Yugi had helped rescue his Red-Eyes Black Dragon before, and he knew that he would help rescue it again.
The next morning, Joey arrived at the game shop. He entered to find Tristan, Téa, Yugi, and Bakura talking to one another about how to get the Red-Eyes back.
"And then he could- oh, hey Joey." Yugi noticed him as he entered.
"Hey Yug. So what's the plan?" Joey asked.
"Well, we thought that you should take your deck with you, as well as a duel disk, just in case this guy wants to duel you for the card." Yugi handed Joey a duel disk and his deck.
"Right. If that anonymous jerk wants ta duel for it, then fine, but he won't make it back home in one piece." Joey mumbled as he placed his deck inside the duel disk and slipped it onto his arm.
"Also, just as a backup plan," Téa walked forward and handed Joey her pink phone, "the game shop is on speed dial. We'll be waiting here just in case you call."
"Right." Joey nodded. "Guys," he hesitated. Joey didn't like to be overly sappy, but he wanted his friends to know that he was grateful. "Thanks for everything." After speaking, he realised that he made it sound more serious than it was.
"You're not dying, dude. Don't worry about it." Tristan laughed.
"I know, but I just want you guys ta know that I really appreciate this." Joey sighed and then smiled, ready for the challenge."Let's do this! See ya later, guys." with that, he walked out of the game shop and into the thick of Domino City. He hung around until it was time to meet the thief who stole his card. Opening Téa's phone to check the time, he headed towards the old, closed down and abandoned bike rental.
"Don't you worry, Red-Eyes, I'm coming ta rescue you." He whispered to himself as he neared the meeting site. The old bike rental, with smashed windows and a worn away logo, sat next to an alley that stretched into the distance. Joey nodded and walked into the alley, keeping his senses alert for the thief.
"Red-Eyes is around here, I can feel it." Joey said as he continued to tread onwards. He opened Téa's phone again to see that it was 5:00 PM on the dot. He put the phone away and noticed a figure standing in the shadows.
He narrowed his eyes and called out, "Are you the punk that stole my Red-Eyes?". No answer came, but he noticed the figure's head lower a bit.
"I said, did you steal my Red-Eyes?" Joey repeated towards the shadows.
"Joey." A female's voice spoke quietly.
Joey almost laughed. He could have sworn that he heard someone, but she was long gone by then. Still, the voice made him freeze and stare into the shadows, hearing his heart beat fast.
"Joey Wheeler." The voice spoke again, her tone questioning.
He didn't dare move. He couldn't. There was no way this was real. But what if it is real? What if she's back?
A sigh sounded from the shadows, a sigh of annoyance and disappointment that he'd heard many times before.
"Mai?" He cautiously asked, his heart racing.
A blond-haired woman stepped out of the shadows now, a duel disk on her arm.
"I-" She tried to say, but Joey interrupted her.
"Don't worry about it."He knew that she would try to apologize. Mai had been his friend for a long time, but eventually she joined a group of bikers who were capturing innocent souls. The Seal of Orichalcos had corrupted her mind, and she had gone as far as trying to capture Joey's soul. She'd actually succeeded, more or less, but she was set free from the Orichalcos at the last minute. That was the last time he had seen her, and now she was back.
"What've you been doing all this time, Mai? I haven't seen you for two years!" Joey thought back to when he last saw her and recalled Mai trying to stand him up when he was losing his soul to the Orichalcos, hearing her voice while his vision blurred, saying that she wouldn't let the Orichalcos take him away. After that, it all went black, the only detectable sound being Mai calling his name. As he looked at Mai now, he realized that she really did change. There was a new glint of determination in her eyes, different from the desperate longing to win that she had in her eyes before.
"I was thinking. Cleaning up my life. I'd made a fool outta myself too many times, I had to start over." Mai looked into his eyes, and Joey knew that she wasn't kidding.
"But for two years?"
"I know, and I'm sorry I disappeared. I shouldn't have left you without any sign of return." answered Mai.
"All that matters is that you're back now, Mai." He looked down and closed his eyes. He was actually having a hard time trying to stop himself from crying. He couldn't let Mai think that he'd gone soft. Suddenly a different question crossed his mind.
"Why'd you have to steal my Red-Eyes?"
"It was the only way to make sure you'd show up alone." She showed the Red-Eyes Black Dragon card in her hand and tossed it to him. He caught it in the air.
"But why couldn't you just meet up with us all somewhere instead a' stealing a card and luring me to some creepy alley?" Joey had to admit, he didn't understand her reason so far.
Mai hesitated. "I wanted to apologize to you specifically."
"Why?"
"Because you're the one I hurt the most, Joey." A new look of sadness and utter regret dawned on her face.
Joey was taken by surprise. He had felt betrayed and abandoned by Mai when she left the gang to join the enemy, but he didn't know that she was aware of that.
"Mai, you don't have ta apologize. What you are now shows me how sincere you are."
"Joey, I was stupid to choose the Orichalcos over you, I-" Mai began, but Joey walked over and put his hands over her shoulders, looking into her eyes.
"You don't have ta apologize."
"But all that terrible stuff I did to you,"
"Mai, I forgave you while you were still doing those things."
"Joey, I'm sorry." Mai said, and a tear ran down her face.
"I know." Joey reassured her. Now that Mai was crying, it was harder for Joey to stop himself from getting overly emotional. They both looked into each other's eyes, Joey's hands still on Mai's shoulders. Joey felt a tear form at his eye as well, dripping down his cheek. I can't cry, not in front a' Mai! A ringing phone sounded from Joey's pocket. He stepped back from Mai and answered it.
"Joey, are you okay?" Téa's voice sounded from the phone.
"I'm fine. What is it?" Joey had to admit that he was annoyed.
"We just wanted to check on you." Yugi said.
"Why wouldn't I be okay?"
"You could've been kidnapped and forced to duel against your will for all we know." Bakura talked now.
"Look guys, I appreciate you checking in on me, but I'm fine." Joey hung up, but heard Mai laughing a bit. It's been a long time since I last heard her laugh.
"What're you laughing about?"
"Nice phone color." She laughed while pointing at the pink phone.
"No, it's- it's not mine, it's- it's Téa's-" Joey stuttered while Mai laughed even more.
"Sure it is." She slowly stopped laughing, but remained smiling.
"I missed hearing you laugh, though."
Mai nodded. "I missed laughing."
Joey felt his heart beating. Seeing Mai so happy made him happy as well.
"You know, Mai, you weren't the only one ta do some thinking these past years."
Mai looked up, a flash of worry and questioning in her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I didn't know if I'd ever see you again. It made me think about," Joey paused awkwardly. "About what I could've said if I'd had the chance."
He suddenly thought back to his duel with Mai. He'd hoped that she would understand how much she meant to him from their duel, but he felt like everything was still unsaid. He'd lost the duel, after all, and hadn't had much time to say goodbye. His duel with Valon, one of the bikers who Mai had teamed up with, had weakened him so that he collapsed in the middle of the duel, automatically losing.
Valon. Joey remembered the Australian who had preferred to hang around with Mai, even though she rejected him. He had dueled Joey to get him out of Mai's life, since she was obsessed with trying to take Joey's soul, and could have gotten her own soul taken in the process. Therefor, Valon tried to make sure that Mai wasn't in any danger. Joey would've done the same thing, but Valon lacked the heart of the cards, and he didn't duel for the right reasons at first.
Plus, he was a jerk. Both Valon and Joey had grown to have lots of respect for one another during their duel, though. Where is he today?
"What happened ta Valon?" Joey asked Mai, who looked away when he said his name.
"He's doing fine. He's okay." Mai still didn't look directly at Joey.
Does she like him? Joey had himself thinking. What if she's in love with Valon? He was surprised to feel panicked by the thought of Valon with Mai. What would be wrong if she was, anyway? Who am I kidd'n. I don't want that biker ta be with Mai. She- she matters too much. He doesn't deserve her.
As much as he respected Valon, and could even call him his friend more or less, he still felt rivalry towards him.
And I deserve her? No, but still. He didn't expect to be having these thoughts about Mai. She had always been his friend, but seeing her now after so long, it was hard to keep his feelings secret.
"Mai, I have ta ask you, do you like that Valon punk?" He watched as she looked into his eyes.
"He's not a punk," Mai answered first, "but he's my friend."
"Right, sorry- but whaddya mean by 'friend'?" He needed her to clarify. It was obvious that she did care about Valon.
"I mean he's my friend. He helped me through the hard times, when I was lonely and lost." When she said this, she noticed Joey's expression of slight hurt and disappointment.
"But Joey, you also helped me. Even when I went against you, you never gave up on me, to the point of losing your own soul. Thank you."
Joey realized that both him and Valon had played a big part in Mai's life, and she cared for both of them. But does she think of me the way I think of her?
"I couldn't give up on you. You matter so much ta me, Mai." Joey hoped that she would understand what he meant by that.
Mai's expression lit up. "You mean that, Joey? Even after all I did, you still- still like me?"
Joey nodded and stepped a little closer to her. I have ta tell her. "Mai, I don't just like you, I-" He tried saying it, but paused again. He wasn't the type to be sappy. Wasn't there a way to let her know how he felt without having to say it?
"I like like you."
Joey could almost hear Téa now, in his head, 'Joey, don't be so childish. Mai cares about you, why do you have to say it like an eight year old would?'
Mai just blinked, surprise and understanding on her face.
"Me too."
"You mean that you like like yourself?" Joey smirked.
"Well, honestly I do, but that's not what I meant." Mai laughed.
"You mean-"
"I love you, Joey." Mai looked awkward but smiled. She closed her eyes and added "you, not Valon."
Joey could have sworn that his heart stopped beating for a second or two. She really likes me? Not Valon?
"Really?" His eyes widened. "Me?" Joey asked. Mai nodded.
"Well- I love you too." He forced himself to say. "I always have, but I didn't think you were the type ta like someone like me."
Mai took a step towards him. "Why wouldn't I, you knucklehead?" She teased.
"You always liked those proper guys, like that Jean-Claude Magnum." He pointed out.
Jean-Claude Magnum was a Hollywood star who'd fallen in love with Mai and made a deal with her that if she lost their duel, she'd marry him. He'd lost, but tried to kidnap Mai anyway. Joey had ended up rescuing her, and Magnum finally accepted that he couldn't have Mai.
"I never liked that show off. You were the one who was telling me to marry him." Mai recalled.
Joey scratched his head awkwardly. "Yeah, well I didn't really want you ta marry him."
"You said you wanted to visit our Hollywood mansion."
"That was before I knew what a jerk he was." Joey had originally stated that he was Jean-Claude Magnum's biggest fan, but then he'd seen how he talked about Mai like she was a prize to be won.
"An' honestly, I was jealous a' him. Not just because a' the whole Hollywood thing. He had the guts ta tell you how he felt." Joey sighed.
"You've told me how you felt now."
"Yeah, but if I'd told you before, you might've stayed clear a' the Orichalcos in the first place."
"Don't blame yourself. It was my fault. I was wrong to join them." Mai shook her head while talking.
The pink phone in Joey's pocket went off again. He sighed and answered it.
"Joey-" Tristan's voice started.
"I'm kinda in the middle a' somethin', Tristan." Joey hissed into the phone.
"Joey, where are you? Did the guy challenge you to a duel?" Yugi asked.
"No," Joey glanced at Mai, "It's Mai, she's back."
"Mai stole your Red-Eyes?" Joey could hear the mistrust in Téa's voice.
"No- well yes, but not like that."
"Then why'd she steal it?" Tristan accused.
"She just- listen, I'll be back soon." Joey hung up and put the phone away.
"They don't have any reason to trust me, Joey, after all I've done." Mai said, sadness tinting the edge of her voice.
"Well I trust you, and that should be good enough for them!" Joey moved closer to Mai and looked down.
"I have ta go." he confessed. "Please come with me, Mai."
Joey wondered what would happen now, with Mai being back in town and both of them aware of each other's feelings.
Mai shook her head. "Your friends won't accept me as easily as you did."
"They're your friends too, Mai. Please."
With a sigh, she finally nodded. Joey grinned and awkwardly held his hand out, even though he wasn't completely sure that she'd take it. She did, and looked into Joey's eyes.
"Joey, don't act weird about this. If this is going to work, you have to grow up."
"I know. I will, but it won't be easy to get used to."
"I never said it would, and I'm sure this won't make it easier." to Joey's surprise, Mai quickly kissed him on the cheek. He blushed a bit, but still smiled.
"You're right, that doesn't make it easier, but it does help." He said as they walked towards the game shop.
When they entered, the gang was still waiting for Joey inside. When they saw Mai with him, they got many different reactions. Téa exclaimed "About time!" when she saw them holding hands, Tristan sort of fell into a ninja pose since he didn't fully understand what was going on, Yugi laughed nervously, and Bakura stood behind the counter, poking around some cards until he saw him and Mai and blinked puzzlingly.
"Wow. So." Tristan said after he stopped his ninja pose.
"How long did it take you to figure that out?" Téa said, walking up to Joey and flicking him on the head. Mai made no motion to stop her, but instead laughed.
"Whaddya mean?" He questioned her.
"Mai's liked you forever, and you only notice just now? It's so annoying." Téa added with a glance at Yugi. Joey shrugged.
"You two are together then?" Tristan asked.
Mai and Joey looked at each other. "I guess so." they both said.
"You guys said that Mai was bad news?" Bakura asked the gang.
"Quiet!" Téa snapped. Bakura slowly slid down behind the counter until he disappeared from sight.
"Don't worry, I expected that." Mai said as Joey moved in front of her protectively
"Listen, guys, Mai's sorry, and that's all we need. I trust her, and so should you." He told them.
"I trust her." Yugi agreed.
"Thanks Yug." said Joey.
"I trust her too I guess." Tristan nodded.
"Me as well. You've always been our friend, Mai. It wasn't you doing those things, it was the Orichalcos." Joey was surprised to hear Téa say.
"Am I supposed to trust her as well?" Joey heard Bakura whisper to Yugi. Yugi nodded. Bakura's head and eyes were visible above the counter for a few seconds as he said "I trust her as well.", but disappeared behind the counter again after that.
"Mai, I know you said that you didn't wanna be part of our group-" Joey started.
"I was wrong. You all trust me, and I'm sorry for saying that." Mai interrupted.
Joey smiled at her and she smiled back. Mai pulled him towards her in a hug, and Joey took a second to register that he was being indeed hugged, and not strangled, which was strange to him. He hugged her as well as Téa and Tristan cheered and Yugi smiled and Bakura laughed nervously behind the counter.
"I love you, Joey." Mai whispered into his ear as they hugged.
"I love you too, Mai." Joey replied. And thanks, Red-Eyes. I couldn't have reunited with Mai without you.
"I'm alone." Bakura sighed from behind the counter.
The End (but only of the fanfiction).