Disclaimer: (Eyes sparkle) Wow. If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, I'd make romance a must and have all the guys (minus Joey) fall for Téa. Hey, who thinks I should own it? I do, I do! Yeah, in case you haven't worked it out, I don't own it and never will. (Sigh) Life sucks.
Author's note This is one of the earliest works I wrote during one of my dull moments. I've already finished the story on this little diskette, so I'm putting this fic up for your reading pleasure. And for the fact that I haven't updated all my previous R/T fics. (Glares from readers) O.o; Blame it on EXAMS and HOMEWORK and TERMPAPER.
This story is affectionately dedicated to Jade and everyone else who supports Ryou/!!! Admit it, they're a cute couple!
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Gifts Galore: 1
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Ryou Bakura spooned up the last of his chocolate sundae with a sidesplit bannana into his mouth as he listened to Téa Gardner animatedly narrating to her best friends, Tristan, Joey and Yugi of her plans for her seventeenth birthday.
"We're having a barbecue party in my backyard, and there'll be all sorts of competitions and prizes. Dad even hired an entertainer to entertain the guests!" she explained.
"I'm so excited, Téa. I'm sure we'll have lots of fun at your party!" Yugi said enthusiastically.
"Of course we are. You're our friend! And just think of all the heavenly food just waiting to be gorged..." Joey practically drooled as he daydreamed of all the mouth-watering food likely to be served. Tristan rolled his eyes. "Careful, Joey. If you eat too much, you'll get fat. Hey, did you already gain a few pounds?" He pretended to measure Joey's waistline. A tic appeared on Joey's forehead and he smacked Tristan's head. Thus, a brawl soon followed suit.
Ignoring their childish banter, Téa turned the quiet boy watching them. "Hey, Ryou, you're coming to my birthday party too, aren't you?" she asked.
"Uh...sure," Ryou stuttered.
Joey paused momentarily from boxing Tristan to smirk at Ryou. "He wouldn't miss your party for anything and anyone in the world."
Ryou blushed and Téa frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing." Joey snickered and proceeded to punch Tristan.
"Well, I better stop those two dingbats from killing each other. See you at six this Saturday, okay Ryou? Joey! STOP THAT, you're going to take someone's eye out!!!"
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"Téa!"
Téa turned around and saw Ryou looking at her. "Oh, it's you Ryou. What is it?"
He nervously looked around the empty classroom. "C-Can I walk you home?"
She got confused. "Walk home with me? But I have cheerleading practice!"
Ryou scuffled his feet. "I-I'll wait for you."
She smiled. "Okay."
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"Domino go! Domino fight! Domino win, win, WIN!!!"
Ryou watched Téa and the rest of the cheerleaders perform their routine. He leaned against the bark of the tree where he was sitting.
Téa caught him watching them. She cast him a quick smile before returning her attention to her routine.
Ryou's heart skipped a beat. W-Why do I feel strange? Why does her mere smile make me happy? he wondered as he once again how lovely...err, lively her azure eyes were.
"Happy birthday to you..." someone sang. Ryou looked up and saw Malik sitting on one of the branches of the tree. Malik Ishtar smirked down at him. "Good afternoon, Ryou."
"Good afternoon, Malik. What are you up to? And I'm not celebrating my birthday yet," Ryou said, raising an eyebrow.
"Tsk-tsk. I'm not always hatching up schemes to humiliate and embarrass people, you know." Malik cupped his chin and shot Ryou a quizzical look. "In fact, I'm actually concerned about sweet Téa. She's invited me to her party, you know."
Sweet Téa? Ryou gritted his teeth while retaining his smile. If anyone knew how to get on his nerves, Malik Ishtar got the trophy. " I didn't know you were on intimate terms with Téa."
Malik's violet eyes sparkled with mischief. "We've become close friends overnight. We felt like we've known each other all our lives. And I'm quite sure that you're not interested with someone as uninteresting as Téa, right?"
Ryou counted to ten, restraining himself from punching Malik's suave face and making his cute little nose bleed. "Of course. Téa Gardner is not my business." Inside he flinched. That had got to be one of the biggest lies he ever said in his entire life.
Malik smirked. "I think Téa invited you to her party too."
"Yes, do you have a problem with that?" he shouted. The heads of the cheerleaders turned to him. he gave them a quick apologetic smile before turning back to glare at the Egyptian blond.
If possible, Malik's smirk widened. "No, but it's you with the problem. I presume you have not bought her a gift yet."
"A gift?" Ryou mentally slapped his forehead. Of course! He couldn't attend Téa's party without one!
"Have you decided already what to give to our dear birthday girl?" Malik asked.
"N-No," Ryou admitted grudgingly.
Malik jumped down, startling the white-haired boy. "Better start thinking now. Her birthday is only a few days away." Malik advised before walking away.
"Argh!" Ryou groaned, pulling his hair. "I don't even have the money yet!"
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Téa swallowed big gulps of water as she and Ryou walked home together.
She sighed. "I can't believe we're having five pages of math homework! And I still have to sew my ripped cheerleading uniform!"
He cast her a sidelong glance. "Can I see it?"
She showed him the large tear on the sleeve of her uniform.
"Hmm...this is a piece of cake. Give it to me and I'll sew it for you," Ryou said.
"W-What? B-But – "
"Do as I say. Finish your homework and get a good night's sleep. I'll take care of this," he said firmly, taking the uniform.
She nodded. "If you say so, Ryou." She paused then cocked her head. "Ryou, I want to ask you something."
"Shoot."
"What do you think of Malik?"
Ryou recalled Malik's words about how incredibly intimate and how very close friends he and Téa were. He scowled. An eccentric extraterrestrial! A poor excuse of a human being! A walking, talking human garbage! Ryou wanted to say, but instead politely told her, "He's a bit...strange."
Téa giggled. "True, but he's lots of fun."
Ryou grimaced. "Why do you ask anyway?"
She smiled and stopped as they reached her front gate. "You don't seem to like him much. He's not so bad now, you know."
You have no idea... Ryou smiled tightly. "I'll see you later."
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Yawning, Ryou checked the clock on the mantelpiece. It was way past his bedtime but he had not finish mending Téa's uniform yet. Anyway, he wouldn't be able to sleep because he was too busy thinking of ways to raise enough money to buy Téa a gift.
Maybe I should take a tip from Téa and find myself a job, he thought. But who on earth would hire a 16 year old? Especially in such short notice. He sighed. Things I'd do for T –
Suddenly he pricked himself with the needle. A loud scream of pain echoed throughout the house.
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"Here." Ryou tossed a plastic bag to Téa's desk the next morning as he sat down behind her.
Téa saw the neatly laundered and seamed uniform and smiled. "Wow. You did wonders, Ryou! It looks just like new!" She then noticed his bandaged thumb. "What happened to that?"
He blushed. "Uh...well..." His blush deepened when she held his thumb. "It looks like you didn't wear a thimble last night," she remarked.
He slipped his hands from hers. "It's nothing. I was just careless, that's all."
She frowned. "If you say so..."
"Good morning, Téa!" Yugi greeted as he approached her table.
"Good morning, Yugi!" Téa turned her back on him and proceeded to chat with her friend.
Ryou heaved a sigh of relief. His secret was safe...for now. At all cost, she must NOT know that he was rapidly starting to feel something for her that was more than friendly. He then looked at the thumb Téa had held for eight seconds or so.
She really had the softest touch...
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TO BE CONTINUED...
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