Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Monsters is the property of Kazuki Takahashi.
Author's note: There are a couple names that are staying in their original Japanese form. Some dub names are just NOT acceptable [coughIshizuandMarikandOdioncough]!! Bah. Please don't scold me for not being consistent...
Warning: Yaoi. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Happy Birthday, Yugi!
{ Chapter 1: SURPRISE! }
By: Shadow Harle
~ ~ ~ ~
[Joey's POV]
"Dammit, will you quit that, Tristan!?" Tristan got himself a good smack on the arm. He kept on makin' some ruffling sound... looks like he gets amused by tinsel easily. God, it was annoyin'.
"Ow, will you quit it?" Hey, it ain't my fault he's got the mentality of a 2-year-old.
Anyways, we were gettin' ready to surprise Yugi for his 18th birthday. Yup, it's that time! June 4th! A bunch of us were gonna give him a party that he'd never forget! It was me, Serenity, Tristan, Tea, Ryou, Duke, Mokuba –Kaiba was there too, but only because his bro was- um, Mai, Mako, even Isis and Malik. Dunno what happened to Rishid, he just disappeared off somewhere. Bakura wanted to come, but Ryou left his Ring at home because he didn't want anyone crashin' the party.
All of a sudden, we heard the door downstairs creak and shut. We froze, but then, all of us scrambled in a panic. Tea tried puttin' everyone in order. "You guys, hush!" She shut the light off, so I couldn't see, and my foot got caught on the lamp cord and fell over. The next thing I heard was a crash. Oh crap.
"Joey! What did you do?" Tea whispered loudly.
"Shut up, Tea. I got it under control." I had to hide it, so I shoved the shards under the front of the couch. He won't find out... I hope.
I leaped behind the couch and hit the floor with a thud. "Ow..." Alright, we should all be ready by now... I looked around to make sure everyone was in their place. Wait, what the...? Kaiba! He was just... sittin' there, in the kitchen, with the light on! This isn't gonna work. "Kaiba! Get your ass over here!"
"Speak to me like that again and you'll regret it." Ooh, I just can't stand that stubborn little... I swear, I just wanna knock him out sometimes. If only he weren't that much taller than me...
"Kaiba! Yugi's gonna be here any second! Come on!"
"Whatever." He got up and turned into the hallway. Wait, he went the wrong way!
"Kaiba! Kaiba! You idiot! Where'd you go!?" Ah well. It was too late now. I could hear Yugi's keys jiggling.
Yugi opened the door and put his backpack down. Suddenly, I heard a toilet flush. Kaiba... you... idiot!
Yugi stopped in his tracks. "Who's there?" He flicked the light switch on, only to see Kaiba leanin' against the wall by the hallway. "...Kaiba?" Yugi furrowed his eyebrows from confusion.
"Hey, Yugi. It's a surprise party. Act surprised."
"Kaiba...!" Everyone groaned in disappointment and slowly got outta their hiding spots, but I hadn't realized it at the time and decided to take my chances.
Now or never... I jumped out from behind the couch and threw my arms in the air! "SURPRISE!!" I held a cheesy-ass grin until I opened my eyes and looked around. What? It's just me?
"Nice try, Joey." I looked down and saw Mai already sitting on the couch. In fact, everyone was already out of their hiding spots. Man, I felt stu~pid.
Yugi looked around the room, with one of those... open-mouthed smiles. "So that's what this was? A surprise party?"
I walked over to him when everyone split up to get some food. "Yeah, not much of a surprise though, was it?" What a downer. All this work I put into the party, and the best part of it was ruined. Damn... Kaiba... DAMN HIM!!
Yugi laughed a little. "Yeah, I kinda figured that when I saw Kaiba standing in the hallway." He saw my expression. "Oh, I'm sorry, Joey. The party's turning out great! Don't worry about such a minor thing, okay?" He smiled and got those horseshoe eyes. Hey... how come I can't do that? Dammit, even Ryou can do it! Am I not cute enough!?
I smiled back. "Yeah, thanks buddy."
"No, I should be the one thanking you! I honestly thought that no one would remember my birthday!"
"Are you kiddin'!? You're 18! EIGHTEEN!" God, I'm such a spaz. Tea even said so that one time I threw her phone in the air.
He laughed again, although this time it seemed a little forced. "Haha... Let's go. I'm sure you didn't order all this catering just for display, did you?"
"Heh. Yeah, you're right. Let's go."
~
Half of the food was gone by the time we finished talkin'. Damn, did we talk that long? Or were the guests really that hungry? Anyways, we got what was left. Most everyone was either talking or eating. Kaiba was just lurkin' the place by himself, like always. I don't even think he ate. Yugi and I, in particular, watched TV, played video games, played Duel Monsters, among some other stuff.
Heh, I still suck at Duel Monsters as much as I did when I first started playing against Yugi. Sure, I've won against other people, but I just can't beat Yugi! Grr. Oh well. Hey, wait a sec...! "Hey! Is Yami helpin' you!?"
His eyes shifted to the left, then to the right, then back at me. "...No."
Yeah, right. "Then take off your Millenium Puzzle."
He grabbed the chain around his neck that held his Puzzle. "...I don't want to." Hehe, this oughtta be fun...
I got up and tackled him. We were already on the floor, so it didn't hurt him. "Don't pull that on me! Give it!" I started tickling Yugi until tears came out of his eyes!
"Haha! Okay! OKAY! I give!" He wouldn't stop giggling, even when I stopped.
Ah, what the hey, I was havin' fun. I slid my hands under his jacket and started squeezing his sides. "Say uncle!"
"Uh... uh...!" Haha, he couldn't even get it out.
"I'll take that as an 'uncle.'" I pulled my hands away and waited for him to calm down, and when I looked up... Kaiba was starin' directly at us. Oh no...
"Just... what exactly were you doing down there?"
I just said the first thing that came to me. "What's it to ya?"
"Well, for one thing, when I hear heavy breathing and see two guys on the floor—"
"Kaiba... don't even."
Yeah, pretty awkward moment. That is, until I heard Tristan shouting, "Uh-oh... uh-oh... OH NO!" from the hallway. Everyone got quiet and looked in that direction, and sure enough, Tristan came runnin' out. As soon as he got into the living room, he tried to play it off like nothing happened. "What?"
The next thing I heard was somewhat of a loud "THUD!" from the bathroom. That can't be good.
I got off of Yugi and pushed Kaiba out of the way to look into the hallway. "Tristan... wha'd you do!?"
"Nothing! The toilet overflowed by itself!" Oh, great. Just great.
~
We got Yugi's grandpa to inspect the pipes to see what the problem was. "Well, it seems that the pipes are clogged. We'll need a plumber to take care of it." He picked up the phone and called the plumber. Looks like I'll hafta hold my own for a while... although I'm not so sure of how long I can hold it.
Well, everyone got back to what they were doing... except for me. I really had to go. I sat there with my legs crossed, and I squirmed and shook my legs every so often. Why did I have to drink so much pop!?
Of course, I'm sure I wasn't the only one. I noticed Yugi sittin' on the floor, he was slouched over. "Hey, Yug. You alright, buddy?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. I'm fine, Joey... Uh, why are you squirming like that?" And he wasn't?
"Heh, I should be askin' you the same thing."
"Oh. Well... uh..." He got quiet for a second, then the two of us started laughing. Not too hard, 'cause we both knew what woulda happened if we did. So I stopped and had to squeeze my legs together even harder so I wouldn't... yeah. I'm guessin' Yugi was feelin' the same way I was. He started shakin' his legs a little, too. "But seriously, I really have to go. Can... we go to your place?"
"I guess we could... but... y'know... my dad..." He... wouldn't be happy to see us there just to use the bathroom.
"Oh, right. Well... then, why not Tristan's? He owes us anyway." Y'know... he's right!
"Hey, good idea. One problem though."
"What is it?"
"I can't get up."
"...I can't either." I saw that coming.
Only one thing to do. I forced myself up, legs still crossed. I knew I looked dumb, but hell, I didn't have much of a choice. I hopped across the room to reach Tristan. He was... hittin' on my SISTER!!
"Tristan... you... bastard!" I couldn't get my words out the way I wanted to, but I'm sure he got the message.
He looked up when he heard my voice. "Huh?" What did he mean 'huh?' Stupid...
I kept hopping towards him. "First you break the toilet, then you hit on Serenity!?" I was so pissed, apparently I lost my balance and landed on him. I grabbed his collar and his back was pushed against the wall, hard. "I'll... kill you!" Hehe, the way that turned out, it looked like I pushed him into the wall on purpose.
"Look, man, the toilet thing was an accident. Sorry. Whaddya want from me?"
I was about to answer when I saw Serenity out of the corner of my eye, still standin' there. "Can you leave us for a sec, little sis? It's an emergency."
"Sure thing, big brother." Man, that would've been embarrassing if she had overheard what I was about to say.
Good, she left. I faced Tristan and whispered to him. "Let us use the bathroom at your house."
"What?"
"Tristan...!" I started pullin' his collar back and forth, so his head was bangin' the wall with almost every word I said. "Tristan... you... owe... me and Yug. PLEASE! You gotta let us go!"
"Alright! Just... stop... doing... that!" I let his collar go. "Ow... damn, Joey." He rubbed the back of his head. He noticed how twisted my legs were when he looked down. "Oh, that bad, huh?"
I looked down and covered my crotch with my hands. Embarrassing. "Yeah, but can we just... go, now? I dunno how much longer I can hold it." I was so jumpy. Hold it in... hold it in...
"Yeah, sure. I'll start up my motorbike. I'll meet you guys downstairs."
~
We couldn't just leave the party without the host and birthday boy there, but we got Gramps to take care of things while we were gone. We were gonna leave Yami, but then again... not a good idea. There are just some people that he can't exactly get along with, if ya know what I mean.
Yugi and I got downstairs in almost no time at all. It didn't take us very long to get to Tristan's house, he only lives a few minutes away on motorbike. We wouldn't have made it if we had walked. And believe me, Yugi's small enough that the three of us could fit on one motorbike.
Good thing no one else was in the house besides us. "Ooh, yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about." I said to myself. I swear, I musta pissed for at least 5 minutes! Of course, I washed my hands when I was done. "All yours, Yug."
"Thanks, Joey." He quickly walked inside the bathroom and shut the door.
Tristan was waiting for us outside the house while I waited for Yugi inside. Yugi doesn't know his house like I do, and I didn't want him takin' a wrong turn or anything.
"Mm..." Yugi sighed in relief. I chuckled to myself. I know he felt the same way I did when I went. It's so relieving, you almost feel like a whole new person!
I heard the faucet runnin', so I figured he was washin' his hands already. "Ready to go, Yug?"
"Yeah, just a sec..." I waited for about another 10 or 15 seconds. "Um, Joey...?"
"Yeah?"
"I, uh... I-I think my zipper's stuck." ...What... did he just say? "...Joey?"
"...Oh, yeah, I'm here." I smacked myself on the forehead and closed my eyes to think for a second. "Um, I'ma tell Tristan to wait up on us. Stay put."
"Well, it's not like I could really go anywhere." I shook my head. This was unbelievable.
~
"Tristan, dude, we have a problem."
Tristan turned off his engine. "What's up?"
"Can you keep a secret?" Luckily, there was no around to listen in on us.
"Well... that depends... on many factors..." Ugh, I hate it when he plays games like this. I smacked him upside his thick skull. "Ow."
"Just listen. It's Yugi... His... zipper's stuck." Tristan stared at me for a second, then stifled a laugh. Hehe, yeah, I admit, it was pretty funny. I laughed too, but I stopped myself before too long. "No, but seriously, Tristan, don't tell him I told you. I think he trusted me with that one. Just wait up for us, okay?"
"Fine, whatever."
~
I came runnin' back into the house. "Awright, Yug. I'm back."
"You didn't tell Tristan anything, did you?" Eh... whoops.
"Naw, Yug. Why?" Stop lookin' at me like that.
"Because it's embarrassing, keep it a secret, okay?"
"Sure thing, you can trust me." Yeah, I felt kinda bad for lyin', but hey, I've done worse. Besides, Tristan's just as close a friend as Yugi is, what was the harm in telling? I just hope I can trust him enough to keep that secret a secret.
"Thanks, Joey."
I jiggled the doorknob a little to see if it was unlocked. Well... it was, heh. He musta heard the doorknob turning, because he sounded afraid that I was gonna see somethin' he didn't want me to see. "Joey, don't come in here...!" I tried to peek in, but I couldn't really see him. He musta moved to the side somewhere. I took a step inside, and I saw Yugi sittin' on the toilet. Damn, he was really tuggin' on that thing.
"Lemme take a look at it."
He looked up at me and flushed. "Joey... no. It's embarrassing."
"Ah, c'mon, Yug. Trust me." I hoped he did, especially after I blew his secret. But then again, he didn't know that. I knelt down and tried to look, but it was hard to see anything with him sitting down. "Stand up."
"I'd rather not."
I grabbed his arms and yanked him up! "Just get your ass up."
His head was still down, but his eyes moved to the left to stop me from lookin' him in the eyes. "Joey... I dunno." He covered himself.
"Aw, come on, Yug. Don't be so shy. You don't got anything I haven't seen before." Trust me, we're best friends, I had his non-verbal concent. I tried to pull his zipper down. Couldn't, so I blew into it. Don't ask why, I just did. I know he felt it, 'cause he flinched, hehe. Seemed like there was a piece of cloth stuck in the zipper on the other side. "Yugi... it looks like I might have to stick my hand down ya pants."
"What?" Haha, I'm guessin' he took that the wrong way.
"To fix the zipper!" There we go.
"Oh... well... um..." I didn't wait for him to respond. I stuffed my arm in there... and Yugi started laughing! I guess he's ticklish down there too, huh? "Joey, take it out! Haha!" Talk about sensitive. Well, the pain did go away, didn't it?
"Awright, awright, I'ma quit." I stopped, and I took my hand out.
[Yugi's POV]
God... I had never been more embarrassed in my entire life. That wasn't supposed to happen... but it's not like I could control it. I shoudn't say that it was Joey's fault, he was just trying to help.
I held my shirt up and looked back down at Joey; he went back to inspecting my zipper. It was broken, but it was stuck at the top. One of his hands was behind on the zipper -which was... inside my pants- and his other was on the front as he made an attempt to repair it. He was a lot more careful this time, mind you.
"Joey? YUGI!?" My eyes shot up... there was Tristan... standing right at the bathroom door! "Was I... interrupting anything?"
Joey looked up. I could tell he was frustrated. "No... you weren't. What the hell are ya doin' there anyway?"
"I got tired of waiting, so I came in. How's that zipper doin'?"
My eyes widened. How did he know? "Joey! You told!?" Why does he always act without thinking!?
Joey ignored me and focused his attention to Tristan. "Tristan! Didn't I tell you to shut up about that?"
"Oh yeah, whoops. Um... I'm gonna wait outside. Hurry up." He left in a hurry. I guess he didn't want to be caught in the middle of a fight between friends.
"Joey... why?"
"...Look... I'm sorry, but... Tristan's my best friend, too. Can you trust him as much as you trust me?" I didn't know how to respond. It's not that I don't trust either of them, but I can't believe that Joey dared to lie to my face about something so simple. If he was only honest with me in the first place...
After a few eerie moments of silence, he stood up and left. I slid down against the bathroom wall, lowered my head into my arms, and cried.
~
[Joey's POV]
"Tristan!! Why do you have to be so stupid!?" I was sick of puttin' up with Tristan's bullshit. I was really pissed. I punched him in the arm, much harder than the first time. I prolly gave him a bruise.
"Ow, sorry man. I just forgot."
"How the hell do you forget something like that? Thanks to you, Yugi's not talkin' to me! You idiot!"
"I said I was sorry." Like a 'sorry' is just gonna make everything the way it used to be. "Look, do you want me to make it up to you?"
I thought about it for a couple seconds. "Actually, yeah, you can."
~
[Yugi's POV]
Footsteps were heading towards the bathroom, but I didn't lift my head up to see who it was. I was too afraid to, I didn't want to see him. Such a small secret, why was it so hard to keep? What if spread to the rest of the party- no, to the entire school? If I couldn't trust one of my best friends, who could I trust?
"Yugi..." He sat next to me on the wall. "Yugi... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I mean it. I know what I did wasn't right. Punish me if ya want to, but ya hafta forgive me." He waited for a response from me, but I still kept my head down. He put his arm around my shoulders. "I didn't mean to hurt ya. I honestly didn't, but you gotta trust Tristan too. He was the only person I could trust before I met you. He's the one person I'd tell all my secrets to, and he's never blabbed about any of them. This one's no different, he won't say anything. I promise."
I can't say his words didn't mean anything to me, especially since he took the time to comfort me. I lifted my head a bit, just enough so my eyes were visible. However, I was still silent. "Ah, come on, Yug. Don't pull that Silent Treatment stuff on me. But I promise you, after tonight, none of your shit is leavin' this bathroom."
The last thing he said to me sounded pretty funny. I know he was trying to be serious, but it was just the way it came out. It made me laugh, but very softly.
"Hey, is that a smile I'm seein'?" He bent over to look me in the eyes, but I turned my head away. "Aw, c'mon, Yug." He lowered his left arm to one side of my waist, and his right hand was at my other. Suddenly... "Tickle-tickle-tickle!!"
I tried to keep my head down, but not for long. I knew Joey knew I was just trying to hide my laughter, but my body couldn't take it. I couldn't resist, I had to give in. "AHAHA!! Okay, Joey! It's okay! WHOA!" I lost my balance; the next thing I felt was my back on the floor.
"Whoa, take it easy there, champ." He stretched his arm out to help me up.
I was still trying to catch my breath. Haha, sometimes I hate being so ticklish. "I'll be alright, Joey." He was kneeling, enough for me to grab his hand for support. He pulled back too sharply, so when I pulled myself up, I couldn't maintain my balance, and... my lips accidently touched his. I tried pulling myself away as quickly as I could, but it was too late; Joey had already pulled my arm enough toward him so that I couldn't move. My eyes widened slighty. A brief moment passed before we drew ourselves apart.
We stared at each other blankly for a few seconds. "Um... sorry." I looked down and scratched my head.
He smirked. "Hehe, no biggie. Let's get back to the party."
I blinked a couple times before answering. "Oh, right."
VERY awkward moment. It can't even compare to when Kaiba caught the two of us on the floor. Partially because Tristan became a distraction to draw Kaiba's attention away from us earlier. Here, we had nothing, we had to deal with it. Well, at least this one happened with my best friend and not someone I can hardly get along with.
~
"Where's Tristan?" Something told me something was up when Tristan wasn't waiting in the street to take us back home.
"Don't worry 'bout Tristan." Joey began walking ahead of me. "I have a surprise for you later, much later." Huh? A surprise? I thought the party was the surprise.
I followed Joey, walking a little faster, almost jogging. "Hey, wait up, Joey! My legs aren't are long as yours!"
[To be continued...]