Disclaimer: T rating. Wrote this because I started watching YuGiOh: Abridged by LittleKuriboh and remembered my first childhood ship: Yami x Tea. Feedback welcome (writing T rated romance scenes is hardddd). Please also keep in mind that I haven't watched the real show in about 5,000 years (Foolish FOOL!), so sorry if I mix up any details.

Enjoy! - Blue

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"That was a duel well won, Teá."

Yami smiled up at her from the bench in the Tournament Winners Dugout. They were alone for the first time in…forever and despite the cheers of the crowd urging the duelists on outside, Teá's face heated at the prospect of any sort of privacy between them. Be cool, Gardner. Be cool. You just won. This is your chance.

She puffed herself up. Trotting over to the pharaoh with her trophy in hand, she sat down beside him, dropped said trophy on the dirt-packed ground, and scooping it up, turned crimson under his penetrating gaze. Nailed it.

It wasn't her fault. Yami was entirely too much for her handle at the best of times: Long limbs; slender, angular features…not to mention the natural confidence he exuded from his very pores, or those eyes that could scorch into her soul with a mere glance. Truly unfair, and difficult to overcome, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself of her platonic feelings towards him. Those eyes zeroed in on her now, demanding things of her, and in response, Teá burned.

"Th-th-thanks, Yami," she finally managed. "No big deal."

Yami's smile had disappeared, even his expressions not liable to waiver in anything. Giving a curt and noncommittal nod, he turned to watch the match proceedings unfold before them.

She blew out her cheeks in silence—Great. Real suave, Gardner—and did likewise, willing the heat to dissipate from her face as she concentrated on not embarrassing herself in front of her years-long crush.

It wasn't an interesting game. Rex and Weevil duked it out, which meant way too many insect and dinosaur puns. Bug out, Dweeble! My dragon's not the only thing on this field close to extinction!

Minutes passed. The crowd cheered at each new monster summoning and trap card reveal, though she could predict each move well in advance. You didn't hang out with her group of friends and not pick up a thing or two. Hence, her win at this amateur tournie. Bet you dinosaur that coming! Yawn. Even the pharaoh had to be bored, and he loved this stuff.

She sat back on the bench; her back was killing her. Maybe she'd grab a snack. She was hungry after all that victory. What would a 5,000-year-old pharaoh like from the concession stand? Steeling herself just enough (they were friends, after all- she couldn't wallow in embarrassment forever), she pivoted towards him.

The pharaoh visibly flinched, turning away from her, and the question died on her lips. That was…unusual. Though his back was to her, ridged and straight and proud, she could still see a sliver of his face behind his layered hair.

Was it just her, or was he a bit red?

Feeling something on the bench, she looked down. Her pinky, which gripped the front of the seat, ever so slightly brushed against his.

Her heart skipped a beat. Was that the reason for his odd behavior? He could've just moved his hand if he was uncomfortable. She hadn't even felt them touching. Unless, for some reason…he didn't want to move his hand.

Cool your jets, Gardner. It could mean anything.

Anything…or something. A spark of hope ignited inside her and refused to be extinguished.

There was only one thing to do.

She bit her lip. Glancing at him one last time from beneath her eyelashes, she slid her pinky against his just so—it was barely a touch, an accidental brush, a little more than a breath of air.

But it was enough. Yami jolted on the bench, setting the trophy at her side tumbling from the shockwave. The pharaoh turned completely from her now, the back of his neck reddening.

Outside, the crowd cheered again. The trophy rolled to a stop on the floor. Tea felt her mouth drop.

Is he going to pretend that didn't happen?

She peeped at the space between them. Interestingly, thrillingly, his hand remained firmly placed beside her own.

She swallowed, and thought of all these years of pining and wanting and giving up just to fall all over again.

Her eyes traced his back as if she could read his secrets inscribed there. His pride was terrible. It laid the span of the Nile between them. An impossible obstacle that most wouldn't wade into for fear of crocodiles.

But Teá wasn't most. She'd just won a Duel Monsters Tournament—amateur-hour, yes, but a big one— and to the pharaoh that was pretty much the impressive equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, sailing the seven seas, a flirty wink.

And she had waited so long, too long, and without any real hope to keep her afloat. She had wandered into the deep end. Her resolution solidified in her chest, causing her to sink, to walk along the bottom towards him. Suddenly, Teá wasn't so sure she was afraid of crocodiles.

Looking at his back again, she came to a decision.

She would take his pride and break him with it.

"Yami," she said, licking her lips. "I have a question for you." Something bristled inside of him—the barest rising of the shoulders—but he composed himself as was his wont. As a king would, Teá corrected herself.

"Let us hear it, then," he said, his deep voice betraying nothing. He faced the arena, apparently interested in the match.

Teá's lips upturned in a secret smile. She chose her next words carefully. "What is the greatest game?"

He wasn't expecting that. There was a pause, and for the first time since she sat down, he turned to face her, the last residuals of his forgotten blush dusting his cheeks. "The greatest game is Duel Monsters." His tone did not leave room for argument.

"Hmm," she intoned. "Yes, I think you're right." She tapped a finger to her lips. "Except…there's another one."

"A game greater than Duel Monsters? Impossible." The pharaoh paused, and if she didn't know him any better, she would have called it a hesitation. "Though you are my friend, and no liar. Teá, if what you say is true, then you must tell me of this game."

She had almost forgotten how seriously the pharaoh took these sorts of things, and suddenly she was grateful that her master plan didn't require her to stand. The pharaoh had upped the intensity of his stare by a factor of a hundred million, and now that it was trained directly on her, she was sure it would have taken her out by the knees.

Pull it together, Gardner.

She released a shaky breath. Here goes. "The greatest game is…love." The pharaoh blinked in astonishment, releasing her from his spell, but she plowed on with the theory. "And not just in the metaphorical sense. The game of love is… tricky. It's push and pull, yin and yang. Sometimes one or both parties don't even know they're playing. Sometimes they both lose. And the stakes…" She sighed—did he just lean in?—her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "They couldn't be higher."

Yami went very, very still. She sat there beside him, going redder with each passing second. Whatareyousaying Whatareyoudoing Whatareyou-

Finally, he spoke, a renewed blush rising in his high cheekbones, "Perhaps you're right, Teá. The game of love does seem…" It was his turn to release a shaky breath. He glanced at her, looked away. "Ah, exciting."

Teá nodded, feeling like she was going to combust. Never…never in a million, billion years would she forget the look of him, the sound of him as he said those words to her. The pharaoh…red about the face, his fathomless voice hinting at bothered…. A fire flickered, low and warm in her belly.

But she didn't have him. Not yet. It was time to reel him in.

Turning back towards him, she glided her nail along the underside of his knuckle, reminding him of the contact. Yami's breath hitched—ohh she wanted to hear that again—the pink in his cheeks darkening.

She was rising to the surface of the Nile, and like an ocean siren, was primed to tug him under by the ankles. She grabbed hold, said in her sultriest voice, "So…do you wanna play?"

A silence fell between them that lasted every bit of 5,000 years.

He stared openly at her, forgetting to turn away to hide the sheet of red that swept over his face. Teá forced herself to stare back, tapped a finger to her lip, and winked.

Yami's mouth opened and closed like a fish. His words tumbled out of him: "W-Well. I would, rather, ah-" She didn't relent. Her fingertip circled his knuckle, another tracing her lips, and he cut himself off in a soft exhalation of air. His stare swiveled towards her chin, back to the bench-space between them, to her chin again.

"Hmm. I'm not sure that's an answer, Yami," she said thoughtfully. "Come again?" She could taste victory; it was written all over his face in alarming shades of red. "Yami…" she prompted again. Then, her voice dropping to a purr at his ear, "Pharaoh…"

"G-Gods, yes," he gasped. Then, clearing his throat, his pride reasserted itself: "Rather- yes, I'll take you on, Teá Gardner."

Teá's stomach did a backflip, her mouth quirking at a corner. Yes, please- !

The pharaoh leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the side of her lips. They trembled as he parted, none too soon, his amethyst eyes locking with hers. "But I warn you," he said, his voice rumbling her down to her core, "…I play to win."

Hnnnggggg. The fire in her belly stoked to roaring, and Teá was pretty sure she would need an oxygen mask by the end of this, but her mouth moved of its own accord.

"That's good," she said. "So do I."

The pharaoh's eyes flashed, and Teá's heart stopped as he leaned forward for the second time.

"Yuuuug!" called a voice. Joey's. "Did you see Teá dominate that duel?" The blonde ducked into the Dugout, Tristan, Serenity, and Duke taking up the rear.

"Oh, hiya Teá!" said Tristan, following Joey. "Congrats on your win." He grinned, and Teá stared.

Serenity piped up, Duke at her side. "Hey Teá," she said. "Something wrong—?"

"She's just tired," said a new, familiar voice at her side. She couldn't believe it. The pharaoh had tagged out. Yugi smiled, giving her a private, knowing wink. "It's hot out there on the field, wouldn't you say?" He turned towards the group, an amused smile playing at his lips. "But Teá plays to win, wouldn't let any old heat wave stop her. Isn't that right, Teá?"

Teá nodded once in bleary-minded assent, the gang clapping her on the back. Note to self, she thought. When flirting with 5,000 year old spirits, make sure your childhood friend isn't playing host.