AN: Hello all. Welcome to my fic for the fourth round of Computerfreaks pairing challenge! The pairing for this round, Duke and Serenity. I hope you all enjoy it and to those still left in the comp, GOOD LUCK once more!!!!!!!!

And just so you know this is set during episodes 143 and 144, or right at the very very end of season three. Some dialogue has been taken so this ties in with the cannon. In a way.

So, without further adieu I give you

Who's behind curtain number one?

xxx

Where beggar's walk and blind men see. That's where I shall be when this is all over. As I promised your brother is safe and the worst is over. But from the bad comes the good and I have I confession. I love you! Please come and meet me in the park, by the lover's tree.

For my love for you is true, and is not to be credited as out of the blue. I love you Miss Wheeler, my heart is yours as you are nothing but a stealer. I love everything about you, your laugh, your smile, your courage within yes it's true! Please come to me, let's meet under the big tree. The park awaits, where the lovers mate and for my battered hearts sake, I beg of you don't be late.

2:30. I promise I shall be there.

xxx

'Bad poetry,' Serenity thought with an unheard laugh as she sat at her desk in her temporary room in Joey's apartment as she clutched a letter in her hand. 'I wonder who it is from.' The love letter had been placed in her bag during the goodbye scene on the docks. And Serenity knew it could only be from one of two people.

Duke,

Or Tristan.

She read over the crappy poem again. And although it was a truly awful piece of writing she loved it. For the first time in her life she felt that someone was looking into her true self and loved what they saw. Not pity for the blind girl, not lust for the hot girl and not love for a sibling. It was as if someone had looked past all that and saw, and saw. Serenity shook her head. Her own thoughts were sounding clichéd, like something out of that bad soap opera that Mia was talking about.

Sometime she couldn't believe her own life was real. At least lately it had seemed so surreal, and almost out of a nightmare.

'I don't think I'll ever forget Joey lying there, practically dead,' she thought. 'But I guess the real question is, who do I want it to be from? And who is it from? Duke was so nice to me during Battle City and the virtual world, but Tristan did spend a lot of time with me while I was in hospital.' She thought with a sigh

…

'Two of them. I have two men after my heart. Tristan and Duke. Most people, hell even I, think I'm lucky. They also say that I should probably toy with both of them. (Thanks Mia sooo for that piece of advice. Not.) But the thing is; I can't love Tristan. It would be too weird. He's like a brother to me AND Joey's best friend to boot. Besides, when I was talking to Yugi about school and stuff in between duels, (just to keep me sane and not worrying,) he told me about the time Tristan got him to write a note to Tristan's crush.

His crush.

Miho.

Well there I have it. It can't have been Tristan who wrote the note because a), he can't write his own poetry and b), he likes Miho. … I think.

Now Duke. I dunno. There is just something about him that kind of, clicks. And that sounds strange and corny even to me. But I guess love does that too you!' she sighed and flopped onto her bed.

'I've GOT to stop eating right before I go to bed!' She sits up, and looks at the note and smiles. 'I think it was Duke who sent it.'

xxx

Morning broke in the town and the invisible birds began to tweet. Serenity woke up, half expecting her brother in the next room to start yelling at the 'damn birds.' Sleepily she thinks about the previous day, and about the note.

The note!

Today was the day that she would find out for sure who sent it! Sleepily she rubbed her eyes. 'Maybe I shouldn't have stayed up so late last night.' She thought with a sweat drop. But as it turns out her late night reminiscing cleared her head. During Battle City she had puzzled over who she did like, between worrying herself silly over the events that were taking place. Deciding that it was boring in bed now she got up and went about her usual morning routine, noticing without much thought about Joey's absence. He had said something about meeting Yugi this morning. As the time slipped by her thoughts returned to the identity of the poet. She smiled as she brushed her hair, looking in the mirror.

'My God I don't know what I was on last night. I sounded like someone out of a corny romance novel.' Putting the brush down she then went and picked up her bag. She wasn't going home for a couple of days yet, and Téa had promised to show her around Domino today. She fiddled with her hair once more, sighed, and ran out the door of Joey's apartment to meet up with Téa realising she was running late.

xxx

2'o clock came and Serenity and Téa were in the town centre at the end of the tour. Serenity caught sight of Yugi and somehow knew that Téa was meeting him next.

"Oh no, I'm late!" Téa exclaimed when she saw the time.

"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you! Thanks for showing me around," Serenity said.

"Oh it's alright!" Téa says with a laugh. "I'm not that late." Then under her breath she adds, "I must hurry, Yugi may be gone forever soon."

"Well thanks again for today! I won't be too far away either. It's like what Joey always says, he's connected to the gang by a special bond of friendship that will never break," she pauses and laughs. "I always knew he was a great big softie!" And with that she bids Téa goodbye once more and runs off to the park as fast as she could run with dignity and poise. But then she stops and stands stock still in the middle of Domino's busy city streets.

'If I get there too early he may not have time to get there. And as Mia would say, I'll look desperate. So maybe if I take the long way around.' With a nod she turns around and walks to the park in the opposite way. 2:30 approaches and she reaches the corner that the lover's tree hides behind.

'Well, I've heard a lot about destiny these past few days, but now it's time to meet my own.' She thinks as she turns the corner to find out, once and for all, who the note writer was, and who truly loved her.

Tristan,

Or Duke?