A/N: I apologize for all the exposition--I'm still working on how to not bog the story down with it. Hopefully things will pick up a bit now.
Chapter Three: Catching Up
Joey smiled broadly. He was taller now, and his face looked older, but his brown eyes had lost none of their mischievous fire. His dirty blond hair looked like it had been combed, for once, and his clothes, though still carelessly casual, looked clean and neat. But far more surprising than the alterations in his appearance was the curvy blonde with him, her hand affectionately—and possessively—on his shoulder.
"Mai!" Téa exclaimed in pleasure. She hadn't seen the woman since the whole Orichalcos debacle. It was good to see her…and with Joey, too.
"How you doing, Téa?" the beautiful woman greeted her. "You're looking good—trying to make someone jealous?" Tea blushed. Trust Mai to think of something like that. It was embarrassing, that's why she'd turned red. Not because she was right. That was just ridiculous. Why would she want to make anyone jealous? The brunette squirmed uncomfortably.
"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" protested her escort. Mai laughed and Téa joined her. Joey was still Joey, no matter how much time had gone by.
Mai, on the other hand… Mai had probably changed least physically out of any of the old friends she'd seen today. Her wavy golden hair still streamed down her back and her flawless skin was as smooth and unwrinkled as ever. But there was something different about her. Something had changed in those gorgeous violet eyes. A new contentment filled them, a mature wisdom foreign to the eyes of the restless, brash, young Mai she'd once known.
The blonde smiled down knowingly at Téa's scrutiny, causing the brunette to redden again. "Oookay." Is there something I'm missing here?" Joey broke in.
Téa giggled. "Don't be silly, Joey, you're always missing something," she told him.
"Like your brain," Mai added cheerfully.
"Can't get no respect around here," Joey muttered under his breath, shaking his head.
Serenity draped her arm around his neck. "Cheer up, Big Brother," she told him. "In a minute the food will be ready."
He perked up immediately. "Dat's right!" He pulled away from Serenity and turned towards the house. "I think I'll go see if da food's ready yet." He edged in the direction of the kitchen. After he had gone a few yards, he bolted into a sprint.
Mai shook her head, her hand on her forehead, but she was laughing. "He keeps me young," she chuckled.
Tristan glanced toward his old friend's diminishing figure. "I...I think I'm going to go over and keep an eye on him," he said, excusing himself from the little circle. He started strolling dignifiedly, but soon they could him call "Wait up for me!" as he broke into a dead run.
The girls looked at each other and fell into hopeless hysterics. "I hope you're a good cook, Serenity," said Mai as the laughter began to subside.
"That's for sure." Téa agreed. It surprised her how easily she had settled into the old easy friendship they had shared so long ago. "By the way, is that a ring I see, Serenity?"
The auburn beauty blushed. "Yeah."
Téa hugged her friend. "Congratulations! When's the date?"
"Well, we haven't set one yet." Serenity began, sighing. "Mom wants me to graduate before we get married."
"When do you graduate?" Téa asked.
"Not until the spring of next year. Tristan doesn't want to wait that long, and neither do I, really, but…" She looked down. "I don't want to disappoint Mom. I guess I'm afraid if I don't respect her wishes about it, she won't approve of my marriage at all, and…I don't know, things are so complicated with my family."
Téa nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure things will work out, Serenity. So," she said, "what are you studying?"
"I'm in Nursing. I spent so many years of my life in a hospital, and I don't know if I would have made it through without all the kind nurses and doctors who helped me along the way. I just want to give some of that back, y'know. Be there for someone else the way they were for me." She looked down, embarrassed after making this "speech".
"That's awesome! You're going to make a great nurse, Serenity!"
"Do you really think so?" she asked shyly.
"Of course! Just look at the way you took care of Mai during Battle City? Speaking of which, what have you been up to, Mai?" Téa was eager to know what the woman had done since disappearing after their last encounter and just how she and Joey had ended up together.
"Well, I spent a long time as a professional duelist, just going from tournament to tournament, beating chumps and winning prize money. Then, eventually…" Her violet eyes went hazy and she broke off. After a minute, she said "Did you know that Joey is running the Kame game shop that used to belong to Yugi's grandfather?"
"What!Joey?" The news utterly dumbfounded the dancer and so astonished her that she didn't notice Mai's evasion.
"Yep. Y'know Yugi's been off so much, going from tournament to tournament, doing speech engagements, commercials, and so forth…"
No, she didn't know. She had no idea what Yugi Muto had been doing since he said goodbye to her all those years ago. She said nothing to the blonde, but her face must have looked stony, because Mai paused and looked at her uncertainly.
"Anyway," Mai continued after a moment, "Yugi was too busy to tie himself down to the shop, but his grandfather was ready to retire. So Joey volunteered to take over." She laughed. "I was as skeptical as you at first, Téa. But Joey's great, actually. He loves it, the way those innocent little kids come to him for advice as they're buying their very first cards. It's adorable, really, the way he acts so "wise" and "knowledgeable" in front of them. And he utterly laps up all the attention."
"Well, good for him." Téa smiled. It still struck her as somewhat insane for Joey, the clueless, but ambitious slacker, to be running a game shop, let alone the Muto game shop. She thought about long afternoons she'd spent there with Yugi, even before he'd solved the puzzle or made any other friends. They'd just sit there together in the quiet, while he pored over some game or puzzle, his violet eyes lighting up eagerly as some obscure clue came to light. She'd always just assumed Yugi would take over for his grandpa when the time came. The two of them had always seemed so similar, both game nuts, both somewhat reclusive, choosing to keep their secrets quietly to themselves. They both seemed so ordinary, but there were surprising hidden depths to them.
She shook her head in amusement at herself. She made it seem so dramatic, romantic even, like it was some sort of failure, the bittersweet ending of something, rather than a simple change of life direction due to the fame that Yugi had accrued. Weren't people entitled to choose what they wanted to do with their lives? She, of all people, shouldn't complain about people chasing their dreams. And besides, it sounded like Yugi's change of heart was Joey's dream come true. It was obviously for the best.
"…and Kaiba's dating some dueling supermodel with pink hair…" Mai was saying.
"What?" Téa exclaimed. "Kaiba's dating who?"
Mai smirked at her. "Look who decided to start paying attention again.
Her cheeks went pink. "Oh, sorry. I guess I was daydreaming." She bit her lip. "But Kaiba's not really…"
Mai rolled his eyes. "Kaiba'll get a girlfriend when Hell freezes over, Téa. Now stop mooning over Yugi; we've got things to talk about."
"What!" Teea flushed. "Mai! How can you say something like that?"
"Oh, quite easily." The blonde winked.
Teea glared and shook her head. She'd seen the woman for the first time in eight years, and she was already on her case. Mai might think she knew all about Téa, thoughts, secrets, and all, but she was wrong. Téa Gardener was not the same girl she used to be.
Serenity shifted uneasily. "Why don't we go see how the food's doing?" she suggested in an obvious attempt to ease the tension. "I hate to think of the damage the boys could do unattended."
"Good point," Mai agreed. She followed Serenity towards the house, but not before throwing a final sidelong glance at Téa.
Téa sighed as she trudged behind the girls up to the gorgeous ranch house. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe she shouldn't have come. Maybe it would have been better to just send a card or something. Maybe it had been too long. Maybe she'd simply outgrown the friends of her youth. Maybe they'd outgrown her.
The last thought sent a pang to her heart. It was true; they all seemed to be doing so much better than she was. They were all so happy, so settled into their little lives. Yes, their littlelives.While you've gone out and made a name for yourself. You're not just Téa Gardner: little girl with big dreams, anymore. You're somebody. Téa Gardner: Broadway star.
She was somebody. She'd heard the cheers of an audience and seen the adoring eyes of fans. She'd smelled the fragrance of flowers tossed onto the stage, tasted champagne toasted to her, and felt the heat of the spotlight on her face. But all of the sudden, the spotlight didn't seem as warm as it should have.
This was ridiculous.She'd come here to have fun. She was supposed to relax, just chill for a little. She'd come so she could catch up with some old friends, reminisce a little about old times, and—alright, she would admit it—brag a little about how far she'd come. She wasn't supposed to get all glum and moody. She wasn't supposed to act like anything was wrong. Couldn't she just be her old, happy-go-lucky self again for once?
Téa plastered a cheerful smile on her face, determined to act happy, and hope the actual emotion followed. She oohed and aahed politely as Mai and Serenity showed her around. It waslovely, though personally she preferred her sophisticated Manhattan apartment. Finally, they ended up in the dining room, where Joey and Tristan were bolting down massive plates of food. In fact, practically every friend Yugi had ever made seemed to be there. At one table sat Bakura, with Ishizu and Odion, probably talking about Egypt. Bakura had followed his father's footsteps and gone into archaeology. Last Tea had heard, Professor Hawkins had helped him land a job with an old friend, a prominent Egyptologist. Nearby Marik and Valon were talking about motorcycles, and at another table sat Raphael and Mako Tsunami. What did those two have to talk about? There was Duke, chatting up the still-lovely Vivian Wong. Tea even spotted Leon von Schroeder in a corner with Mokuba. There was no sign of either of their older brothers, though. Téa fixed her smile on extra tight and braced herself for the round of greeting.
After she had seen everyone, Tea got a glass of water and a plate of salad—which seemed to be the only things left after Joey and Tristan's invasion—and sat down beside Serenity. Tristan, who had just gotten up to take that seat himself, started to protest this, despite his mouthful of food.
"Go away," she shooed him, waving her hand about forcefully. "You get to see her all the time. Go bug Joey or something."
Tristan scowled, and walked back over to the table where Joey was sitting. Mai now occupied the seat he had so recently vacated, but Tristan was undeterred. "Hey, Mai," he said cheerfully, before sliding in between the couple. The blond looked up from his overloaded platter to throw him a glare, while Mai rolled her eyes in Téa's direction.
Téa grinned in response. Thiswas the way things were supposed to be.
Serenity smiled up at her friend. "You seem more yourself, Téa," she commented lightly. "I was getting a little worried about you.
"Yeah," Téa agreed. "Sorry I was so out of sorts earlier." She stifled a yawn. "I think the let jag got to me." She laughed. "I mean, the jet lag. See? I can't even talk anymore."
"It's okay, I know what you mean. I grew up with Joey, after all." Serenity laughed softly and Téa joined in. It was a warm, cozy feeling, giggling together. It was enough to make Téa completely ignore the resentful mutter that came from Joey's direction.
"Sure, let's all make fun of Joey. He's always good for a laugh."
"So," Téa began, throwing a glance around the crowded dining room, "quite a turnout, isn't it?"
Serenity nodded her agreement. "Yugi has so many friends. How did he manage to meet them all?"
"Well, he just sort of bumps into them, y'know, when he's saving the world an' stuff. He can't really go anywhere without making one." Téa glanced at Duke's companion again. "Serenity, how did Vivian get invited? Rebecca can't stand her."
"Oh, I thought you knew. Didn't he mention it when he drove you over? Duke brought her. They're dating."
"Seriously?"
The girl nodded.
"When did that happen?" Téa inquired curiously. During Tea's very brief acquaintance with the Asian duelist, Vivian had been in avid pursuit of both Yugi and Kaiba. As far as Téa knew, she hadn't even given Duke a glance.
"I'm not sure. I just met her this week, when they arrived." Serenity leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "She really made Joey upset, too. When Duke introduced her to us, she said 'Oh, you're that underdog duelist.' Mai had to pull him off to the side until she managed to cool him off."
"How'd she manage that?"
Serenity turned bright pink and giggled. "She kissed him."
"That would do it," Téa agreed, the slightest of pink spots appearing on her cheeks.
The girls chatted for a while, Téa catching up on the various gossip. It was obvious that Serenity had stayed in far better touch with the gang than Tea had. But maybe that wasn't so surprising, after all, of Téa's three closest friends, Serenity was sister to one, and engaged to another. While Téa'd gone to New York to study dancing and then to Broadway, Serenity had stayed close. After graduating from high school, she'd enrolled in the same college Joey and Tristan were already in, just outside Domino. She was currently living on campus, but she and Tristan planned to buy a house in the city after they were married. Joey was still very close with his former mentor, Yugi's grandpa, so the Wheelers stayed well-informed on Yugi's life, no matter where his travels took him. According to Serenity, Yugi had started at the same college as Joey and Tristan, but he had ended up taking so much time off for tournaments and promotionals, that it just wasn't worth it. He dropped out midway through his junior year, and then took the next year off to go on a dig in Egypt with Professor Hawkins—and Rebecca. When he came back, he was swamped with offers.
"And the rest, as they say, is history," Serenity finished. "He's always got so much going on. I know Joey wishes he would stick around more, but, hey, he's a busy guy."
"It sure sounds like it," Téa agreed, taking a sip of water.
Serenity watched her carefully. "Téa," she began, "Is something wrong?"
"Why would you ask that?" Téa looked up from her glass, startled. Was her mask so thin that a careful look was all it took to see through it?
"Well, you…you don't seem yourself."
"That's because I'm not."
Serenity looked up abruptly at Téa's suddenly harsh tone. "What do you mean?"
"People change, Serenity. They grow up, they move on. You can't expect everything and everyone to stay frozen in time, forever and ever."
"I know that. But…Téa, we've been friends a long time. I think I can tell that—"
"Look, Serenity, I'm just…kinda stressed right now." She managed a weary smile. "Success ain't all it's cracked up to be."
"Téa," Serenity began carefully. "I don't think this is about your newfound fame, or even your dancing at all."
"Yeah? Well, what do you think it's about, Serenity?" Tea's eyes flashed.
The auburn-haired girl took a deep breath. "I think it's about Yugi."
