Here's chappie diez! I finished it so much faster than others, I'm so happy! ) I hope you guys enjoy this a lot.

Thanks so much to my loyal reviewers! You make this all worth it, from your wonderful praise to your constructive criticism (which I need more of), they make me a better writer.

Disclaimer: I noticed that I have been neglecting my duties as a good citizen to note that I do not own anything except my own characters (which I am too lazy to list at the moment). AH! I'm such a bad person! sob But can you guys really blame me for at least trying to delude myself into thinking that I do own them?...whatever. I need professional help.

AND ON TO THE STORY!

Chapter 10

Now finally alone, Tristan set the "table" for their breakfast at the living room coffee table. Tristan was quite pleased with himself for his great achievement. He managed to cook a multi-course breakfast without ruining anything. Now all that was left was the taste. Tristan was more than apprehensive to stick the food in his mouth. Sure, it looked fine, but that really had no indication of how it actually tasted.

He looked down to the floor where Keiko was devouring her plate. It couldn't be that bad if she could handle it right? Carefully, he speared a fluffy yellow piece of egg, along with some not-too-greasy-but-greasy-enough-to-taste-good looking sausage, and popped it into his mouth before he lost his nerve.

'Hm, not bad at all. In fact, it's quite good.' As he ate more and more of his breakfast, he started to enjoy himself more and more. 'Damn I'm good!'

Serenity, as if feeling his ego explode, gave him a pointed expression as if trying to burst his ego down to its normal size.

After finishing their meal, Tristan did a quick clean up as the two of them prepared for their busy, jam-packed day.

"So……….what's up?" Tristan asked casually as they lounged around the living room. It was ten o'clock. Neither had moved since breakfast, already bored out of their minds.

Serenity barely responded, making a noncommittal movement of her head. She eyed the room, searching for something to catch her attention. She was, after all, a puppy. How hard could it be to amuse her? Then, something caught her eye.

There was a piece of furniture, Serenity assumed. It was tall and long, covering a good chunk of the wall. It was covered by a large white, frilly cloth, obviously hand sewn. Intrigued, Serenity sauntered over, trying to contain her curiosity. The thing was very old, judging from the amount of dust surrounding it. The cloth came down on all sides, almost touching the floor. Serenity poked her head under the cloth, hoping to see what it was. Unfortunately, the cloth was too thick and obscured any light from helping her discern the object.

The cloth lifted up off of her head as Tristan kneeled down next to the dog and picked up the cloth.

"What are you looking at?" He asked. Serenity barely acknowledged him and just nodded towards the giant thing. Tristan followed her muzzle to where she was pointing it.

"What? That old thing?" He pointed at the dark brown wood.

"No, I'm looking at the bright pink dust bunny on the wall." She barked sarcastically. Tristan suppressed a chuckle. Did she just roll her eyes?

Tristan stood up in front of the thing. In one dramatic motion, he flung the cloth off, causing the dust to fly all over the two of them. When the dust had settled, both of them were nicely saturated with dust.

Serenity glared at Tristan as he gave a sheepish grin.

"Whoops?" Tristan shrugged. There it was again! He saw it this time. She definitely rolled her eyes that time!

Serenity shook her fur clear of dust, causing some particles to fly up her nose, making her sneeze. The tiny sound brought a smile to Tristan's face.

"Cute." He thought.

"Well…mystery solved! It's a piano." He lifted the cap and picked Serenity up as he sat down on the creaky bench. He gently fingered the keys, pushing down lightly once or twice, creating a soft whisper of a note. The note was slightly off with disuse, but it still held its pure resonance that filled the silent room. Tristan continued to stare at the patterned ivory, a blank look on his face.

Serenity impatiently scuttled out of his grasp. For some reason, she had the need to play the piano.

Serenity had taken lessons before. For many years actually. It was a skill she would need in the future. At least it was according to her mother. She never really liked it that much. She loved the sound of the piano though; it was what drew her to want to learn it. But Serenity learned the hard way that playing music wasn't quite the same as just listening to it.

"I wonder if Tristan plays…" Serenity mused as she sat on his lap.

It looked as though he was going to play a song, his hands placing themselves in front of the keys, his fingers lying gently on top of them. He left them there, a concentrated look on his face as if trying to recall the notes from a far corner of his memory. As he stared at the keys, Serenity stared at him. She felt oddly drawn to him (even more so than lately), hanging on his every move. Just then, the telephone rang, its loud blaring interrupting the scene. Serenity cursed the blasted appliance under her breath.

Tristan stood to answer it, leaving Serenity on the bench.

"Don't just leave me stranded on the bench!" Serenity barked after him. Tristan turned around.

Keiko was stranded on the stool. It was too high up for her to jump down safely and the piano was too far away to leap onto. An evil grin crept up onto his face as he weighed the options.

"HELLO! Helpless puppy needs help!" Se barked impatiently. Tristan shook his head and sighed.

"I am so whipped." It was the second time the thought had crossed his mind. He picked her up off the stool and set her on the piano to let her have some fun. The moment Serenity's paws touched the keys she was prancing around, making as much noise as possible.

"I knew I would regret that." He thought as he cringed at an especially discordant group of notes.

"Hello?" Tristan picked up the phone.

"Hey Trist - Is everything alright over there? It sounds pretty crazy over there." Tea's voice was lined with worry. He just chuckled.

"Everything's fine over here." He responded.

"Are you sure? It's not Joey is it?" Her tone changed as she imagined what possible damage her house could be sustaining at the moment. Tristan chuckled whole-heartedly.

"No, it's not Joey. It's Keiko." He reassured her.

"Who?" Tristan forgot. No one else knew the dog's name.

"The puppy."

"Oh, alright then. So anyways, I was calling you to inform you that Yugi was planning a camping trip for all of us this week."

"Is that it?" Tristan asked tentatively.

"What? What do you mean?"

"You called me just to tell me that?"

"Well I wanted to make sure you could go." Tea's voice took on a defensive tone.

"Tea, you could've told me an hour before we left and I would still go. You know that. So what's with the formal announcement?" Tea sighed in defeat.

"Alright, you got me. You see, in order to get up to the campground, we need a driver since it's not like we can take the bus or anything like that. So, being the only one in our group with a driver's license, you were… selected, to transport us all there!"

"So what is this, a warning?"

"Pretty much, and to make sure that you can borrow your parents' car."

Tristan thought about it for a second. His parents were out of town for a week, visiting a sick uncle in the hospital in Tokyo. They left everything to him, as long as he took good care of everything, which included the car. But his parents trusted him with the vehicle…as long as Joey was not riding it with anything that could possibly explode, spill, break, dent something…as long as Joey wasn't holding anything.

"Yeah, I should be able to take us all there." Tristan reassured.

"GREAT! I'll tell the others! See you in a few days!" The line clicked and then went dead. Tristan silently hung up the phone as Keiko's incessant noise making came back to his ears. A smile rose to his lips.

Serenity was having such a blast! She jumped down extra hard on some keys, creating such a discordant sound. Oh, if only her piano teacher could hear her now. A shadow loomed over her, blocking the light. Serenity looked up to see Tristan, smiling goofily as he sat on the bench.

"Having fun?" He asked.

Serenity nodded her head vigorously. She was having a LOT of fun.

Tristan merely chuckled at that. He then carefully placed his hands on the piano again, trying to find the right position.

Serenity noticed him preparing for a piece. She quickly and quietly moved to the side, tiptoeing across the keys, resting at the spot where the last stick of ivory nestled into the wood. He was going to play this time, and Serenity was going to hear all of it.

Tristan noticed Keiko's sudden change in demeanor. He smiled and shook his head. Well, if she wanted to hear him play THAT badly, then who was he to deny her of that? Digging through his mind, he tried to find something to play. Nothing too hard. He didn't want to mess up in front of his audience.

He didn't know why tit mattered so much. Something just told him that he really needed to impress her. Finally, he came upon the perfect song. He made it up a few years ago. It still wasn't perfect, but he thought it would be perfect for her. Carefully, gently he pressed down on the keys, creating a gentle chord that rose up from the piano.

Serenity watched as Tristan slowly transitioned each note and chord carefully, with such intention. As he continued to play, he became more and more engrossed in the music. He started to play a bit faster, increasing the pace of each and every note till he was playing at a nice and moderate tempo; a relaxing speed. Each note floated out of the piano, drifting in the air as the sound resonated.

The song was simple in mechanics and rhythm and all that other useless stuff. But Tristan was playing with so much depth, so much emotion. He closed his eyes as he concentrated on the music. The harmony rose up to meet the melody, weaving in and out, intertwining together into a homogenous mixture of sound that wafted throughout. It was relaxing, soothing as the sound fell to Serenity's ears.

Serenity was surprised to say the least. As a musician, she was surprised at the difficulty of placing so much life and vitality into a piece and how well Tristan accomplished that. Mrs. Natsumoto would die for the chance to teach Tristan. As a friend, Serenity was surprised at everything. The fact that he could even play the piano was a momentous discovery. And when it turns out he has this much skill, it blew her away.

Serenity was captivated with the sight in front of her. He swayed lightly, almost afraid that he would be taking it too far with the movement. His fingers moved on their own accord, finding each and every note with such precision and timing.

Serenity found with each and every moment she spent in Tristan's company, she was enjoying it more and more. She was frightened at the thought of being stuck in her current form, but she found it hard to keep those fears grounded as she more time with Tristan.

"Think of what I almost missed out on." The thought of being anywhere else besides with Tristan scared her. Something within her started with fright. What if Tristan didn't find her? Would she still be out in the streets? Would some sadistic teenager pick her up and do God knows what with her? Serenity became increasingly thankful each and every moment that Tristan was her savior.

That's when it hit her. She was more scared of leaving Tristan, of not being in his sphere of comfort and protection. She was more scared of leaving than she was of never leaving.

But she wasn't sure what it was that made her feel all panicky. The thought of never hearing this wonderful music, or never discovering this side of Tristan? Slowly, she was beginning to lean towards the latter.

So...whaddya think? Good, bad? Bien, malo? I need feedback! Please review. pwetty pwease?