THIS NEW YEAR

"Duck!"

An antique vase flew in the air before it crashed into the wall, shattering into dozens of pieces. Five cautious heads rose from their hiding spots, attempting to look out for further chance of attack.

"I don't know why I even bother!"

"Will you listen to me for once?!"

"Listen to THIS!"

"Incoming!"

The five heads dropped for cover behind their designated shelters as another piece of china smashed against the wall.

The heads came up again, even slower this time. The one with wide violet eyes warily came up from his spot behind the side table, his big hair concealed by a large pan he recovered from the battlefield/kitchen. He was the nearest to the line of fire, and had a good yet safe vantage point. The boy peeked past the wall and after a second, nodded to the others. The blonde, the white, the tri-colored, and the brunette all stood up from their points of safety.

"Those two have the weirdest relationship this side of the Pacific Ocean," Joey Wheeler said. The blonde was a very ambitious, if not a slightly impulsive boy with a heart as golden as his hair. Due to poor care from his father, Joey was a little skinny, but muscular enough to defend any of his friends in an instant, which was where almost all his loyalties lay. His friends, and that of his sister Serenity, the only person in his life that he actually loved.

"Agreed," Said the little albino blonde. Also known as Ryou Bakura, affectionately known as Ryou since he and his yami counterpart simply known as Bakura had discovered a way for all the yami's and hikari's to have their own bodies; including each other. His yami Bakura was once a tomb robber and the King of Thieves in the days of the Egyptians. He used to be a cruel killing machine. However having his own body cooled him down immensely. Ryou was almost the polar opposite of Bakura; the innocence exuded from him made Snuggles the Bear look like a murderous blood-sucking pedophile.

Ryou's sweet disposition was very similar to that of the purple-eyed boy Yugi. The shortest of the bunch, he was more or less a mixture of his friend's Joey and Ryou: completely innocent, yet deeply devoted to his friends. He was known as the more adorable one of the lot, his big violaceous eyes threatening to overtake his features when they widened as he at last removed the pan from his head, the tri-colored locks practically popping back into position. "It's not all bad. They're just having…another…fight."

The taller, yet similar looking man to Yugi put a hand on his hip. "Am I the only one to notice that's the third one this week? And it's Monday!" Like Bakura, this yami was also a spirit from the Egyptian times. Only this boy played a far more significant role: He was Pharaoh Atemu, the King of Games. He was given a choice to return to his resting place in Egypt, but for reasons known only to him, he had chosen to remain in this time. And instead of being referred to as 'Pharaoh' or 'Atemu,' he much preferred his other name, Yami.

Yami did look very much like his counterpart, however his appearance was more of the mature nature and unlike Yugi, he loved being able to show off his sexily slenderous form. Currently his body was encased in a red muscle-shirt and a pair of skin tight Daisy Dukes.

"Aw, come on Yams. Every couple goes t'rough deir own problems," Joey interjected.

"Yeah, just look at me and Duke," said Tristan, the eldest of the group. His tall, well-muscled frame made him a potential target for many; of both sexes.

But he fell victim to love, and for eleven months he'd been living with his fourteen month boyfriend, Duke Devlin.

"Oh please!" Joey muttered, grabbing the controller and taking his place back on the sofa, careful to avoid the various debris of pottery and china. "You and Duke haven't had a fight since you spilled Hollandaise on his then-favorite leather pants."

Tristan chuckled at the memory, and being the clean-freak he now was, he began gingerly picking up the various shards. "I remember how mad he was too. Supposedly those were 'inherited jeans' passed on by his grandma. …Who knew women wore leather pants in the twenties?"

Yami chuckled deeply at this, striding over to the sofa where he promptly leaned over the arm of the couch, without bending his knees, which on its own made Yugi and Ryou blush a little. "I only wish," he purred.

This caused Tristan to chuckle slightly, while Joey burst into a downright fit of laughter. "Yeah, 'cuz we all know the rest of the world want's to see your can in a pair of painted-on leather pants."

Yami grinned at this, and flirtatiously winked at his friend. "You know what they say: If you've got it, flaunt it," his eyes shifted slyly to the far left, as if trying to admire his own derriere.

"Aww, and we all know you've got it, don't we hot stuff," inquired Tristan playfully, pausing momentarily to smack Yami square on the ass.

Yugi and Ryou flushed scarlet for their friend, who was shamelessly grinning back at Tristan. "You better believe it."

Joey laughed again, and pressed a button on the remote, his face instantly changing into that of dismay. "Aw man, I don't believe this I missed my favorite show because of those two!"

Yugi recovered from his flushed face, and rolled his eyes at his friend's complaint. He made his way to the sofa, and leaned against the back of it, his hands cupping his cheeks as he muttered reassuringly. "Don't worry Joey, I'm sure The Simpsons will be on some other time."

"N'yeh, shaddup!" The blonde complained, crossing his arms huffily as he settled for Everybody Loves Raymond, a large unopened bag of chips in his lap.

Frowning at the blonde's choice of words, Yami reached forward and snatched the bag away from Joey. "Hey!"

Yami casually tossed it to Yugi, who had to clutch it in a hug in order to catch it.

"Be nice Joey," the dark scolded.

This caused the blonde to mutter under his breathe while the Pharaoh's hikari had started blushing again, but for a different reason.

He enjoyed that his Pharaoh was always willing to help him, as he was for all of his friends. But the fact was made all the more special by the…well…by the growing attraction he was starting to feel towards his Yami.

The boy realized that his attraction wasn't the most pure, and it perhaps wasn't a good idea to want to get involved with a yami, but he knew it wouldn't be long before the Pharaoh finally accepted someone else's offer. Oh, Yami got many requests for dates; trips to the movies or out to dinner, but each time without fail, the dark would smile sweetly, blink slowly, and politely decline.

These constant refusals gave Yugi a bit of thrill, the fact that despite the Pharaoh being able to have almost anyone he wanted, he would always say no. Perhaps his standards were a bit higher than an average person. And why not? He used to be a king of Egypt, able to call upon anyone to service him. And back then it was literally everyone.

Nowadays it was a similar situation, since a few weeks ago Yami had officially announced that he was bisexual. This thrilled Yugi even more, giving him hope that he had a chance. Hope that he probably didn't have a right to possess, but he sure as hell did.

"So, what's everyone's New Years Resolutions?"

Joey flapped his hand dismissively. "Naah, I ain't got one. I figure what's the point in making a promise to meself that I know I'm just gonna break in less than a month."

Ryou giggled. "I used to feel that way too."

Yami smiled at the pale child. "Used to, as in the past tense Ryou-chan?"

The lad nodded firmly, and crossed his arms in determination. "Yes. I finally realized that with Bakura around I can't really afford to be so…mild-mannered if I wish to still have a say in my own house. So I've made the resolution 'Be Bolder'."

Joey nodded reflectively. "Sounds good Ryou." He craned his neck over to Tristan. "What about you Taylor?"

Tristan smiled ruefully. "Attempt to restore my manhood by behaving less like a housewife."

Said the man who was currently using his own handkerchief to wipe dust from a shelf on the bookcase.

Yami rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm promising to try to get more sleep. My sleeping pattern's been a little off and my night life is suffering because of it."

Tristan raised a brow disbelievingly. "You're gonna look at a weird sleeping pattern all together when you're done."

The Pharaoh nodded with decisiveness. "Indeed. But is it my fault there aren't enough hours in the day?" He shrugged at his own question and smiled softly at his aibou. "What about you little one?"

Yugi blushed again. He was afraid someone would ask this. His resolution wasn't perhaps like most people. His was to ask Yami to be his boyfriend by the time the clock struck twelve. He wanted it to be perfect, just like in the movies. The very romanticism of the concept caused the boy to turn a deeper shade of red.

"Aibou, you're turning awfully red. Naughty resolution perhaps?" The Pharaoh questioned smugly.

The little one pursed his lips at this. "N-no!"

There was a slight curl to the older duelist's lips, indicating the onset of a smirk. Oh, Yugi prayed not. His Yami had a killer smirk; one that made him go weak in the knees and turn pink.

To hide his face from the oncoming leer, the boy pretended to become fascinated with the ingredient list on the bag of chips. He knew he was only making the situation worse, but better he be laughed at than falling faint from that cruelly beautiful smirk.

"Aww, I betcha I know what he's planning!"

Yugi's eyes almost popped out of his head when they widened. He looked up from the bag, and was met with two grinning faces, and two curious ones. Thankfully, Yami was one of the curious ones. "You do not!" He yelled to Joey.

The blonde smirked at him. See, now, he didn't feel a thing.

"You wanna lose your virginity!"

His mouth fell open, causing Joey to burst out laughing again, almost howling as he fell to his side on the large sofa.

The little one made a quick scan of the room to survey the damage. Ryou was blushing, nothing new so he was safe there. Tristan was attempting to hold back laughter, but was giving him a persistent glance. But Yami…Yami looked shocked, his mouth open and his beautiful eyes widening.

"Is that true Aibou," his dark questioned carefully.

Borderline infuriated at the sudden invasion of his personal life, Yugi tossed the chips back to Joey, hitting him right on the head. "It is NOT. If there was something like that happening anyway, it wouldn't be anybodies business but mine. My new year's resolution happens to…to be to try and gain a little weight."

At this his yami smiled, almost like he was happy at this change. Yugi didn't quite understand that, but he let it go.

"Whew!" Joey said dramatically. "That's some good news pal. You are getting' a bit skinnier dan usual lately. What'samatter, Yami try his hand at cooking?"

This earned him a glare from the Pharaoh, and a pillow to his face. "Ow!"

The boy growled playfully, facing the Yami on the other end of the couch. He lunged forward, grabbing the other teen's shoulders, and a few forceful pushes from the other began a full-blown wrestling match. Seeing the spotlight finally off of him, Yugi started giggling at his friends' exploits.

"Careful guys, you're gonna hit glass," Ryou warned through his laughter.

The two were completely oblivious, Yami pulling on Joey's leg until he was in an Ankle Lock. "Damnit you, get offa me!"

"Tap out Joey!"

"NEVER!"

The blonde quickly slipped his ankle out of the other mans grip and turned the tables, leaping up and pushing the Game King on his back. "Haha! I gotcha now!"

"Not for long!"

"OW! No pinching you cheater!"

"Oh come on, who's cheating?"

"Gee, I wonder."

"Ahh! Would you stop trying to cop a feel from me?"

"Oh that's what they call it now, huh?"

"Hey!"

The two looked up, greeted by the looming figure of Tristan. During their little fight they had managed to turn the coffee table on its top, exploded the bag of chips, and removed a cushion from the sofa. They were in trouble…

Tristan smiled warmly. "Careful. You're about to roll into the porcelain coffee cups."

They grinned up at their friend, making the uninvolved ones still standing behind the sofa giggle. Yami used this sudden distraction to his advantage, and leapt up to Joey, effectively pinning him before the blonde rolled them over, putting himself on top again.

By this time, Yugi had a hand in front of his face, concealing the loud fits of laughter threatening to bubble up from his throat.

"You can tell someone's used to being on top," Joey snickered.

Both hikari and yami gasped at these words, and Joey grinned, taking full advantage of the situation by rolling the boy until he was on his back.

A speculative finger on his cheek, Ryou said, "Anyone else getting flashbacks from The Lion King?"

Yugi's lips twitched at this, and he heard a slight raise of laughter befo---"OH SHIT!"

They turned their attention to the kitchen, listening for any further signs of distress before they heard another shout. "Oh, damn!"

Like synchronized dancers, they turned to Tristan, who was clutching something in his lap, his face tightened into a grimace. "Christ, I knew I shouldn't have tried to pick those up without gloves!"

He held up his hand, which was bleeding like a stuck pig.

Ryou gasped, and looked around for a towel. Before he had met Bakura, the very sight of blood on television was enough to make him go ghostly white in his face. However, being around an ex-thief and murderer twenty-four-seven had rendered him almost immune to any gore. He could even watch horror films now, and he only got nightmares on rare occasion.

Even the two wrestling partners stopped in their activities to assist their friend in any way they could.

"God Tris, are you stupid or something? Common sense dude!"

"Honestly Tristan, one of these days this clean-freak-house-maker jag you've gotten into is going to be the death of you."

Tristan pressed his other hand to the back of his left, trying to apply enough pressure to stop the bleeding. "Oh jeez," he moaned as Ryou and Yugi approached him with dry washrags.

"Calm down, it's not that bad," Yami said, trying to examine the wound through the blood.

"It's not that. Potato chips can be swept up, a cushion and a table can be put back in place, but blood is such a NIGHTMARE to get out of a woven carpet."

Joey gave him a bemused glance as he raised the damaged hand to give the hikari's better access. "You never quit, do you?"

Steadily, they wrapped his hand in the washcloth. "Do we need 911," the little albino asked in concern.

There was a stereo shout of, "NO!"

He squeaked and jumped back a little at the loudness. "Sorry! I just thought I should ask."

Patiently, Yami patted his friend on the shoulder. "It's okay Ryou. If we called 911 every time blood was drawn at this house the ambulance driver would have to live here to save time."

Ryou smiled at the Pharaoh and nodded, before turning his face back to the current crisis. "It really doesn't look too bad. I'm pretty sure there's a first aid kit in…" he frowned as he realized another dilemma.

"Where is it Ryou?" Joey asked as he replaced the bloodied washrag with a clean one.

"The…kitchen."

Tristan moaned again, clutching at his hand.

Yugi patted his back. "It's okay Tristan; there's a spare kit in the medicine cabinet of the upstairs bathroom."

The brunette smiled at his little friend. "Say, thanks Yug! I'll head up there. You guys can go back to whatever."

As the tallest made his way up the stairs in a nearby hall, Joey put his hands on his hips indignantly. "Hey! How dare you call a professional wrestling match 'whatever'?"

Noticing his friend's memory, Yami grinned fiercely before he leapt onto the blonde's back in a piggy-back fashion.

"Hey!"

"Get along little doggy!"

Ryou snickered, pulling out a couple moist towelettes his friends could wipe their hands on. "He got ya there Joey."

"Hey, hey, hey! Only dice boy can call me that, and that's just for special occasions."

Yami grinned, finding a perfect opening. "Oh really? I thought that's what Seto told you in bed."

This was too much for the little ones. Ignoring the moist towelettes and their sticky hands, they fell on their backs in a fit of hysterical laughter as Joe's face turned three shades of purple.

"Oh you are SO DEAD right now!"

The blonde spun in numerous circles, desperately trying to reach behind his back to catch the pointy-haired boy, succeeding only at pulling said hair.

Suddenly grinning to himself, Joey looked around and charged the wall near the entry door, head on. All of the other three heads looked at the boy as if he was crazy.

"Joey, what are you DOING?"

He didn't say anything, only got a couple feet from the wall, and abruptly turned around, slamming his back into the barrier.

"Ow! Damnit Joey!"

Ignoring the voice behind him, he slammed into the wall again, this time twice as hard. The impact made him stumble forward before he fell to a crash on his side; his plan all but backfired, for Yami was a little stunned from the pain himself. The two were still interlocked, and the position of the two boys was just redolent enough to make the other ones break out into gales of laughter once more.

All four of the men were in that exact position on the floor, when Bakura, Duke, and Seto Kaiba walked into the house. The three stood where they were for a moment, observing the scenery: Two of the men locked in a highly suggestive position, and the other two clutching their stomachs, all four of them on the floor, and many pieces of broken glass and porcelain.

Duke clapped his hands on his sides in frustration. "I swear! I always miss the fun parts."

Tristan's boyfriend was very slim, despite his multiple complaints of an expanding waistline. His black hair set off his devilish green eyes almost perfectly. Similar to the effect a pure emerald had against black velvet. Though he and Tristan were perhaps the most shameless flirts to ever be seen, their devotion to each other was unrivalled. Duke Devlin was also the creator of a play off the card game Duel Monsters known as Dungeon Dice Monsters.

The other male, Seto Kaiba, was the brown-haired blue-eyed CEO of Kaiba Corporation, a company he obtained from his step-father and shared the responsibility of ownership with his little brother Mokuba. They created Duel Monster supplies and nowadays even made new cards. It used to be assumed that Seto was a very cold, uncaring human being. Lately however, for some reason known only to him, his icy visage had cooled a little, and he was now even hanging out with their 'group' every now and then. Although he certainly couldn't resist jabs every once and a while to the Mutt, a.k.a. Joey.

"Who knew broken dishes counted as a good time," he asked the other teen snidely.

"Oh shut up Kaiba. Hey guys, what's going on here?"

Yami finally detached himself from Joey, straightened, and considering his little shorts had hiked up somewhat during his skirmish with the blonde, yanked them down. "Well, the broken dishes are due to a little…disagreement between our hosts."

Knowing what that translated into---one of them had another hissy-fit---all three of the new-comers smirked.

"We were on the floor just for some wrestling."

Kaiba's smirk widened and he passed it down to Joey, who still had yet to rise from the carpet. "Just like a Mutt. The floor is always the location of choice for…wrestling."

Joey's mouth tightened, but before he could do anything to respond, Yami continued. "And the other ones were on the floor," the boys had started standing, "because they were laughing at us."

Given an equally perfect opening as Yami, the smirk spread into a wide grin as the CEO said, "Wow. Your technique is THAT bad Mutt?"

This time the teen stood up to lunge at the brunette when there was suddenly an enthusiastic interception from Bakura, "Hey! We really DID miss the fun! What's with the blood?"

All the heads in the room turned to Ryou and Yugi's hands. In unison they looked back up at the group, then pointed to the place in the carpet where Tristan's blood had dripped. "It's Tristan's. He was---"

"What!?" Duke shouted. He rushed over to Yugi, and grabbed his shoulders in a panic. "What did you do? What happened to him?"

Yugi waved his hands in an 'I surrender' gesture. Although since they were currently covered in dried blood that belonged to the panicked mans boyfriend, that didn't reassure the gambler very much. "It's okay, he was just trying to help clean up the glass on the carpet and he accidentally cut himself."

"My ears are burning."

The guys all looked back at Tristan, who chose to make his entrance then, one hand wrapped in a white bandage.

Duke rushed over to him and gingerly held up the mummified hand. "Oh…didn't I tell you to start wearing gloves when you do things like this?"

The taller one grinned and looked down at their joined hands. "Haven't I told you to wear gloves when you trim the lawn?"

The ebony haired man ignored that, and with a sigh, "Is it bad?"

Tristan shrugged. "Stings like a son-of-a-bitch because I had to put some alcohol on it, but that's it."

Duke smiled, and using both of his, he lifted the bandaged hand to his lips where he pressed a soft kiss. "Better?"

The brunette smiled at his boyfriend, and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Much better."

"Aww, is there a violin in the house," Bakura questioned rudely.

Ryou, who had made his way over to his darker half elbowed him harshly.

"Hey, I'll take a syrupy love-fest between those two over a feud from hell with the other two," Joey said wryly.

Kaiba looked past the gang towards the kitchen. His expression turned confused at the odd silence. "I thought you said they were fighting?"

Yugi nodded, and finally made use of the moist towellette. "They were, but they went into their soul rooms a little while ago. Haven't come out since."

Duke slid to where he was behind Tristan, slipping his arms around the other boy's body so he was holding his wrists. Apparently being around his lover had tempered Tristan's urge to clean their host's home. A sad fact, since there was blood on the floor, just as much cracked ceramic as before, complete with little bits of potato chips lying around all over the place. "Meanwhile, Seto has something he'd like to tell you all."

Blue eyes widened before they passed a glare to Duke.

"What do you need to say Kaiba?"

The CEO crossed his arms and wrinkled his nose at the gambler, who was currently preoccupied with a spot on Tristan's neck. "Just that Devlin needs to keep his mouth shut."

His head tilted to one side to give his boyfriend better access, Tristan smirked and said, "Why? It can be put to such better use when opened."

Seto's eyes closed as if he was in great pain, and Joey put his hands to his ears. "La, la, lala, lada, dum! I can't hear you!"

Yami bit back a laugh while Yugi and Ryou hid their red faces. Bakura was the first to speak with a mocking chuckle. "Yeah, hahaha…"He put his fingers on his temple in grief. "That was SUCH and over-share."

Duke grinned, and continued to speak over his boyfriends flesh. "Continue Kaiba."

The CEO rolled his eyes, and angrily plopped on the one cushion left on the couch. He took a deep breath to prepare himself, almost as if he were telling them they all had cancer. "Well, it's New Years soon. And, usually there's this end-of-the-year celebration at Kaiba Corp. However this year we had to cancel because I chose to give everyone a vacation for the holidays."

Joey cast the brunette a bewildered glance as he gathered up the stray cushion and put it back in the couch so he could sit down. "You mean Scrooge was finally visited by the three ghosts of Christmas? Well I'll be it's a miracle!"

Yami, who had taken up a spot beside Yugi at the back of the couch, smacked the back of the blondes head. "Oww!"

The Pharaoh motioned for Kaiba to continue. However once he was given the floor again, Seto didn't seem to be able to gather his words correctly. "Anyway, I have no f---" He cut himself off and cleared his throat, continuing with a phrase everyone knew was different than the one he originally intended to say. "I have nothing going on and since there's usually at least two parties that take…well I just thought….that is MOKUBA, didn't want to spend time alone in the mansion on Ne---"

"Kaibaaa," Duke warned, finally looking up from his work.

The CEO blushed, crossed his arms in a dissatisfied huff, turned so he wasn't looking anyone in the eye and said, "I…would like some company on New Years Eve, so I'm throwing a party."

The blonde snorted. "Yeah. All of us running around in tuxedoes and black-tie. Sorry. Not interested."

Duke grinned, and made some space between himself and Tristan, pulling his boyfriend along by his uninjured hand until they were directly in front of Seto and Joey. "It's not that kind of party," he said in a sing-song voice.

Kaiba actually blushed at this, and the worst assumption came from---

"Ooh! Pot party?" Questioned Bakura eagerly, who received a half-hearted slap from Ryou after the words left his mouth.

Joey grinned smugly. "I really doubt the high and mighty Mr. Seto "Money bags" Kaiba would subject himself to the lowness of narcotics," he said in a low stage-whisper, like it was a sin to say the word.

"Tch…" The CEO muttered, drawing everyone's attention his way. "Believe me, I've often thought about it. I have a brother to raise, a house to manage, and a company to run. Taking a roll of a joint or two has actually been a pretty tempting thought in the past."

Yami tilted his head speculatively at the blue-eyed boy. "Well? What stopped you?"

A self-mocking smirk spread across the brunettes face. "I have a brother to raise, a house to manage, and a company to run."

There was a slight chuckle amongst the group before everyone was taken aback by this sudden outburst of personal information from the CEO, especially considering he never shared anything about himself.

Duke intercepted to ease the awkward silence. "Sorry. No pot, but there's gonna be plenty of this…"

The black-haired boy removed his hand again, and raised his hands up, snapping his fingers and shaking his hips.

Yami's face broke out into a blinding smile. "A dance party?"

Seto shrugged. "Something to do. I let my employees know they have the option of coming, but I doubt a lot of them will show."

Yami put one hand on the back of the sofa and jumped over it to land smack in the middle of Joey and Kaiba. "Count me in!"

Both the blonde and brunette lurched away from the teen, and said in unison, "somebody's eager."

The tanned boy ignored this and strained his neck to face his counterpart with an eager grin. "How about you, Yugi?"

The little one blinked. "Well, I'm not the best dancer."

Yami shrugged and flapped his hand. "So what; you're there to have a good time, whether you dance or find something else to do."

"Or someone," Tristan winked.

Yugi thought about this. If his friends were going he figured he would most likely have a good time. Also, at least now he had a guaranteed reason to talk to Yami on New Years Eve. In fact this would probably work out much better. They could dance together for a little bit, they would talk, and then when it was finally midnight Yugi could confess his love. Now it would really be just like in the movies...

"Does that lost expression on his face mean yes?" Kaiba asked impatiently.

The boy blinked, coming back to reality, and saw Yami grin at him knowingly. "It does."

Little Yugi didn't know whether he was apprehensive or touched by the fact that his dark had so easily interpreted his expression.

The CEO next turned to Ryou and Bakura. "How about you two?"

Bakura shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do."

Ryou smiled. "Sure, it sounds like fun."

Tristan joined two fingers, put them to his forehead and saluted. "That's a yes over here."

All eyes turned to Joey, who pursed his lips in displeasure at being outnumbered. "Fine."

Seto grinned smugly. "It's decided then. I've already called your little girlfriends and given them an invitation."

Ryou's brows knitted together. "What girlfriends?"

Bakura gave Ryou one of his many strange looks, one that the little boy had long ago learned to not take very seriously when directed to him. This look right now was, 'Are you STUPID or something?' "He's talking about Téa and Mai!"

"And Ishizu," Duke added. He then gestured towards the kitchen. "I doubt those two would show up if she wasn't invited. Speaking of which, are they allowed to come?"

Kaiba shrugged. "I don't care, just so long as they don't smash anything. This party is being held at the Kaiba mansion, and unlike those two, my breakable values are actually worth something."

Joey grinned widely, and slapped a hand to his mouth, shaking his head adamantly as if telling himself to hold it back.

Yami caught on, but wisely chose to ignore him, instead calling out, "Hey, Marik! Malik! Get in here!"

Yugi looked over at the Pharaoh. "They're in their Soul Rooms Yami."

After rolling crimson eyes, he then closed them to commune with the pair.

In a silent three or four minutes, the Ishtar's made their way to the living room, keeping their distance from one another.

Regardless of the many fights they had broken into lately, the yami and hikari were quite well matched. They were very close until recently, when Malik suddenly began getting the idea that Marik was cheating on him. What these claims were based on no one knew, for they rightfully kept it between each other. However, there were still promise rings on both of their fingers, so that gave the rest of the group some remaining hope for the pair.

"Seto's having a New Years Eve dance party at his mansion. He invited all of us, so do you two want to come along?"

Malik shrugged and crossed his arms. "I'd be more than happy to go. If someone is willing to let me out of the house."

Marik rolled his eyes, but looked down at Kaiba with a polite smile. "Sure, we'd love to."

Seto nodded, and said "It's agreed then. Considering the number of people that I'll have to pick up, I'll probably need two limos…" the last part he seemed to be saying almost to himself.

There was again silence in the room, except for the television, which was now spouting out wise cracks from My Wife and Kids

All was well for a while, when suddenly, Malik let out a loud screech. "Aaahhh!"

Once again, all heads turned, and after all the twisting of their necks during the night, there was finally a loud cracking sound from each boy.

"Ohhhh…."

They were rubbing their sore necks as they cautiously looked at Malik. "Oh my Gods! What did you guys do to my house!?"

(Kaiba's limo)

Joey grumpily sat, his arms crossed in anger. His nose was wrinkled up in a furious pout. Damnit, why did it have to be him?

Yugi and Yami were getting home via Yami's new truck, Duke and Tristan could walk over to their place, Ryou and Bakura called dibs on Malik and Marik taking them home. They had to go see Ishizu apparently, so it wasn't out of their way to take someone home…those lucky bastards were just able to open their mouths faster. "Let me tell you something, I'm not the least bit happy about this!"

"Am I supposed to be, Mutt?"

Joey rounded on the other man in the limo. "Will you KNOCK IT OFF with the dog jokes? Seriously, after so many times you'd figure you'd get over them by now."

Kaiba just grinned. "Likewise."

Realizing what the brunette meant, Joey took the rather childish route, and stuck his tongue out at the other man before continuing to brood. "You know, I don't know why I accepted that stupid invitation of yours."

Seto reached into a small cabinet in the little table attached to the wall, and poured himself a glass of Coke. Joey snorted at this. Snobbish bastard…too good to drink pop out of a can, are we?

"Because you didn't want to be left out of the loop when you realized that all of your supposed friends were attending."

The blonde turned back to him. "That was a rhetorical question."

"I answered anyway."

"You didn't have to."

"But I did."

"Nyeh, shaddup!"

Seto only chuckled slightly, that sound soon followed by the soft clinking of ice in his glass as he took a sip. Joey took a second, studying the other teens profile. Seto Kaiba didn't seem like the type to do dance parties unless they were all fancy-shmancy, hoity-toity, black-tie to-do's. And he told him so. "You know, it's kinda weird that of all the options you had for celebrating New Years Eve, you go with a dance party."

Kaiba shrugged, and offered the blonde a sip of his Coke. Joey looked down at the drink, bewildered. The brunette drank from it himself, so it wasn't poisoned. He didn't look to be in any bad health. This was bizarre. Kaiba didn't share anything…meanwhile he was holding out the pop for the shorter duelist to sample so casually, as if he did it all the time. Cautiously taking the glass from the CEO's hands, and twisting it somewhat so they wouldn't be drinking from the same spot, Joey raised the glass to his lips, feeling a small bead of condensation catch on his lips. "I happen to be very light on my feet."

The limo driver pulled up to Joeys apartment swiftly, (God bless him), and Joey quickly handed the glass back to the CEO with a laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll love seein' that." He opened his door and rushed out of the car. "Thanks for the ride, seeya Friday!"

Joey didn't even turn back as he entered the raggedy building. If he had, maybe he would have noticed as Kaiba slowly ran his tongue over the spot where the blonde had drunk.

(Yami's truck)

"Seriously, doesn't it seem odd?"

"What seems odd, Aibou?"

"The fact that Kaiba's having a dance party. I mean, sure, lately he's been getting a little closer to us…I guess, but still. A dance party?"

The older of the pair shrugged as he made a wide turn. "I'm not complaining."

Yugi giggled. "You made it quite clear that you liked the idea."

Yami laughed in return, and pulled up into the driveway for the Turtle Shop. "What can I say? I like dancing."

Yugi got out of the truck, and rounded behind the bed of the truck until he met his other half were at the front door. Yugi was still the only one with an actual key, so Yami waited patiently for the boy to open the door. "Well, I can't dance for anything."

Yugi unlocked the bottom lock, and fumbled through his ring for the key to the deadbolt. "Surely you must know something about dancing?"

The light tilted his head. "Not even enough to fit into some dancing shoes."

The dark pursed his lips speculatively. "Well, looks like I'm going to have to teach you some things."

The little one smiled. "That would be great."

As the door opened, Yugi held it open for his yami to go first. As the spirit made his way inside, he leaned down, and whispered, "Besides, I'm dying to see you shake that little ass of yours."

He left with a soft whack to Yugi's behind, leaving a little boy blushing in the doorway, completely oblivious as his keys fell in the three-foot snow.

(Tristan and Duke's House)

"I don't believe this…so THIS is to be my fate then?"

"For Christ's sake, you drama queen! It's not like you're gonna die!"

"I am too," came the moan of dismay. "That's what it's gonna say on the certificate…death by chicken wings." Duke Devlin reached onto the platter and picked up yet another tiny poultry.

Tristan rolled his eyes at his boyfriend. "Believe it or not, you won't pop---no matter how many you eat, so how could you possibly die, other than maybe choking on a bone?"

These words, spoken in a certain tone that Duke knew his boyfriend had infused intentionally, caused the raven haired teen to spit out his current mouth full of breading and chicken.

Tristan burst out laughing, his boisterous voice cutting into Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

His love turned up his nose, and looked off in the opposite direction. "You know, I have no idea why you're laughing; I have a legitimate problem!"

Tristan snorted, and leaned against Duke tenderly, but ineffectively. "Oh please. You're just fishing for compliments. What can I do to get you to stop?"

Duke turned back to him, and appeared to think it over. He snuggled down against Tristan until his head was on a pajama-clad shoulder. "You can reassure me that I'm not fat," he suggested with doe eyes and a little smile, putting his hand on the bandaged one of the brunettes.

He grinned knowingly at his boyfriend, and kissed his forehead. "Relax babe. If anything you're underweight."

"Aw! Thanks Tris," the dark haired boy told him. He kissed his lover gently before he locked his arms around him and pushed him to the end of the couch so they could be closer, abandoning their TV dinners.

After a warm cuddle shared between them, they turned their attention back to the TV, which was automatically set for a horror line-up on the movie channel. "You looking forward to Kaiba's party?" Duke asked conversationally.

The taller grinned. "You bet. It's a dance party. Let's just pray he plays good music."

"Amen," the other grinned before he looked into the hazel eyes of his lover. "You do realize a lot of stuff's gonna happen right?"

"At the party?"

"Yeah."

"Of course."

Duke tilted his head. In all seriousness, he said, "Really Tristan. I mean…with the guest list Kaiba's got here…there's going to be some serious drama this New Years Eve."

Tristan nodded. "I know. Bakura will make at least one threat to blow up Kaiba Manor."

The slightly shorter one put his chin on his hand, resting his pointy elbow on a muscled chest. "People are gonna say some pretty…interesting stuff."

"Guaranteed at least one person will come out."

Duke smirked. "In that case, there'll be a lot more couples heading out than when we come in."

Tris thought to add, "There's without a doubt gonna be sex."

"Sparks flying."

"Catfights."

Completed with their list, the older thrust out his lower lip in reflective thought. "Well, all that can be summed up…"

Duke smiled down at his love, catching on. "In just one little phrase."

They grinned toothily at each other. "MALE HORMONES!"

The two burst into blissful giggles, embracing each other in happiness, bursting with anticipation of Friday night.

Chapter one mistakenly reposted. This story will develop into a song-fic, and it will get VERY adult content. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh; this story is my baby, please review and let me know if you like it/what you think of it. Thank you for reading!