Disclaimer: it's just fun to repeat... if they were mine... wow, I'd be rich, and anyone could sue me! But, they're not mine, so I'm not rich, so you can't sue me... I don't think anyone could right now, what with the disclaimer and all ^___^ it's win/win!

Warnings: *blinks* shounen-ai, so to speak... sorta *shrugs* heh, okay then? okay then *nods* Oh yeah... okay, it's gonna shift from certain POVs, not like first person, but like umm, if it's Bakura, it'll be 'Bakura'.. if it's from the others, Bakura will be referred to as 'Bakla'... okay? I know, I'm bad at explaining things v.v

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"So, Bakla... what're you doin up here...?" Joey asked, curiously. Bakura blinked, almost ignoring the 'Bakla'. Which wouldn't have been good, since he said it was his/her name.

"Ummm, my mother, she's visiting my uncle, Bakura's father... so, they both agreed that I come up here to meet my... er, Bakura's friends..." Bakura explained, with a small smile.

Then Tristan strolled in, covering his mouth with his hand, as he yawned. Then he blinked, as he looked the table over. His eyes landed on Bakura. Bakura bit his lip. The moment of truth.

Tristan watched the new girl for a moment, wondering who she was. But everyone else seemed to already know her. Tristan sighed, he really didn't like being kept out of the loop. So he strided up to her, and held out his hand.

"Hi... I'm Tristan Taylor..."

Hesitantly, Bakura took his hand, a tingling feeling rushed through him, at the warmth of his hand. "Uhh, I'm Bakla..." he said, softly.

Tristan nodded, "nice to meet you..."

Bakura bit his lip, "same to you..." he mumbled.

"She's Bakura's cousin..." Yugi informed the taller boy, since he was giving him a quizzical look. Tristan raised an eyebrow, then nodded as he released Bakura's hand.

"... Speaking of Bakura..." Tristan looked the table over, again. "Where is he?"

Tea shrugged, "no idea... Bakla, do you know where he is?"

Bakura blinked, reluctantly looking from Tristan to Tea. "Um, who?" he asked.

"Bakura..." Joey, Tea, and Tristan said.

"Oh... he went home, to visit his aunt... er, my mother..." Bakura told them, mentally praying that no one noticed the gaffe. No one did.

"Really..?" Tristan asked, confused. "When?"

Kaiba blinked, "just what I was wondering...."

"Uhhh, I think about 3 in the morning... my uncle calls at the strangest times, doesn't he?" Bakura asked, with a light-hearted smile. Everyone but Yugi blinked, then shrugged, and went back to eating. Bakura sighed with relief.

***

Tristan glanced at Bakla again. She was very pretty. And her eyes, they were the exact same chocolate brown eyes as Bakura's. Very close family resemblance. Right then Bakla was talking with Joey and Tea, with Yugi playing the mediator. For some reason, Yugi wasn't letting Joey or Tea ask too many questions. If they did, Yugi would just answer for Bakla.

Tristan was very observant, especially about people. Though he did make assumptions, a habit he was trying to break. Sure, new girl, really attractive one at that, and Tristan couldn't help but wonder if Bakura really did head back to his father's. Sighing, Tristan rested his chin in his hand, as he stared at the newspaper in front of him.

There went his chance.

***

Tea blinked, seeing Bakla looking at Tristan. Again. Wow, she was almost as sneaky as Bakura. Almost. But not sneaky enough, since she just caught her.

"What're you looking at?" Tea asked, with a knowing smile. Bakla turned to her, her cheeks already reddening.

"Excuse me...?"

Tea gestured at Tristan, "him?" Bakla looked nervous. Tea sighed, and in a big sisterly way, she draped an arm over Bakla's slender shoulders.

"Bakla, you and me, we need to talk..."

Bakla looked confused, "what? Why?"

Tea started leading her to the livingroom. "Hey, where you goin?" Joey asked, confused.

"Girl talk..." Tea answered. "No following..."

***

Bakura fidgeted. Girl talk? He had no idea how these even worked. Maybe girl talk simply met a lecture? Hopefully. Because Bakura had no idea what to say to Tea, especially in a girls' heart-to-heart.

Tea took a seat next to him, and folded her hands neatly in her lap. Bakura sat rigidly, grimacing, dreading the next to come.

"You like Tristan already, huh?"

Bakura's heart pounded harder, his ears ringing, he turned to look at her, "excuse me?" Tea smiled, with a slight shrug.

"I notice these things..."

Bakura shook his head, "you have to be kidding, Tea... I can't like Tristan, because... because..." he paused, racking his brain to think up an excuse.

"Because of Bakura?"

Bakura's heart leapt in his throat. "What!?" he squeaked.

Tea shrugged, "like I said, I notice things... especially if someone likes someone else... like I noticed Kaiba apparently has a thing for Joey, not that he'd admit it... Joey has a small thing for Yugi, hence all their playing around..."

Bakura held up his newly feminine hand, "wait... you think Bakura likes Tristan?" he asked, managing to make himself sound doubtful. He felt guilty for asking, but he had to know. How had he been obvious about it?

Tea shrugged, "those two... they look at each other a lot, they both don't notice... actually, I didn't even notice Bakura looking at Tristan, until Yugi showed me... I think they'd make a nice couple... but, Bakura's too shy to do anything about it, and Tristan... I think he's still hung up on Miho, or something..." she explained, with a sigh.

"Miho..." Bakura muttered, with a shake of his head.

"You know her?"

Bakura blinked, then bit his lip, "ummm... Bakura talked about her a few times..."

"Really? What does he say?"

Bakura fidgeted. What would I say? he wondered. "He says... Miho seems nice enough... but, the way she treats Tristan... that changes his opinion of her."

Tea nodded, "I know... I tried telling Miho that Tristan's a nice guy, but she won't let Bakura get out of her sights... poor Tristan..."

"Poor Bakura..." Bakura muttered, with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah... but hey, if you like Tristan, you can go for it, if you want... he seemed to be looking at you, too..." Tea told him, with a grin.

Bakura started to blush, "I can't..."

Tea blinked, "why not?"

"Bakura... he would... well, throttle me, I suppose..." he lied. He just wasn't comfortable about doing anything with Tristan, especially as a girl.

"Oh! So you DO know that Bakura likes Tristan, too!"

Bakura gulped, "ummmm, yes... of course..."

"Hey, great! Then you can help me set those two up! When does Bakura get back!?" Tea asked, eagerly.

"Ummm, when I leave... sorry, Tea..." Bakura answered. Hey, it was the truth. Tea's face fell, as her shoulders slumped.

"Nuts..."

"Sorry..." Bakura apologized again. Tea smiled.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Bakla... I can do it on my own... I have my skills..." she assured him, with a firm nod. Bakura nodded.

"I hope you succeed..." he murmured.

***

Tristan drummed his fingers on the table, then he moved a chess piece. Playing by himself was really kind of weird. But it was more of a challenge, since he had to think up two strategies, and right then, white was winning.

"Hey, Tristan, you comin out?" Joey asked, holding his snowboard. Tristan shook his head.

"No thanks..."

Just then Bakla walked into the livingroom.

"Hey, Bakla! You wanna give snowboarding a try?" Joey asked, with a grin. Bakla blinked, looking confused. Then she looked at the snowboard.

"Who's all going?"

"Everyone, but him..." Joey said, gesturing at Tristan. Who ignored him, as he stared at the board, thoughtfully. Joey glanced at Bakla. She was watching Tristan, almost intently. Joey raised an eyebrow. "Or... you can stay if you want..." he offered.

Bakla started to blush, "what?"

Joey gestured at Tristan, again. "Keep an eye on him... he nearly burnt this place down, last time..." he said, with a shrug. Bakla bit her lip, close to laughing.

"You're the one with the genius idea to put gas on the wood, so 'it'll burn faster', remember?" Tristan pointed out, with a smirk.

Joey grinned, and shrugged, "hey, it worked, didn't it?"

Bakla smiled, "I think I'll stay..."

Joey nodded, "alright... take care of him..." he said, then strolled out. Tristan glanced at Bakla, as she sat down on the sofa, and started to work on a crossword puzzle.

Their resemblance, it was unbelievable. Soon, his quick glance became a stare. She looked up at him, her cheeks reddening, seeing that he was staring.

"... Yes?"

Tristan instantly felt like an idiot, "uhhhh, sorry... I was just... uhhhhh... hi," he gave her a meek wave. She blinked, then smiled.

"Hi..."

Tristan nodded, and turned back to the board. Nope, his concentration was now shattered. Sighing, he stood up, and walked ot the window, to stare outside. It was nice scenery. Trees were covered with white, the snow around the cabin was untouched, except for the paths to the woodshed, and the driveway.

"Tristan...?"

Blinking, Tristan glanced back at her, "yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?"

Bakla was watching him, her brow furrowed with concern. Tristan felt a small tugging feeling in his chest. She looked a lot like Bakura, especially with that expression. Tristan forced a smile. "I'm fine..."

"You always contemplate the snow?" she asked, with a raised eyebrow. Tristan then couldn't help but give her a real smile.

"Not usually..." he said, with a shrug. "I just... it's amazing... it's only been a day, maybe even less, and I'm missing..." he paused.

Bakla was watching him, intently. It was nearly heartstopping.

"I'm missing... your cousin..." he finished.

Bakla blinked, "who?" Tristan raised an eyebrow.

"Bakura...?"

Bakla shook her head, "oh! Sorry, I just... was... a bit... ummmm, distracted, that's all... forgetting my own cousin..." she sighed, in disbelief. Tristan blinked, suddenly getting a small sense of embarassment. Distracted?

"No problem..." he said, with a quick nod. She smiled. Tristan felt his heart speed up a bit. He frowned, inwardly. Only one smile makes me react like this, he thought.

Quickly he stepped over the coffeetable, and sat down beside her. She watched him, curiously. "What is it?" she asked, cautiously.

"You... remind me..." Tristan said, slowly, as he stared into her eyes.

"Remind you..." she echoed, leaning back slightly, her cheeks reddening. Probably because of the sudden nearness.

"Bakura..."

Her eyes widened, shining, "what?"

"You... remind me of Bakura..."

Her face fell, then she averted her gaze to the coffeetable, "oh..."

"I'm sorry..." Tristan said, with a shake of his head. Not something a girl wants to hear, Taylor! he scolded himself. But it was the truth. He looked into Bakla's eyes, he saw Bakura.

"I just... no, Tristan, it's fine..." Bakla assured him, giving him a warm smile. Tristan's heart started to speed up again. How could this happen? It's always just been Bakura who's smile could do that to him. Now, here's his cousin, who had the exact same effect?

Tristan couldn't help but get hit with a sense of disappointment. Deep down, he always thought his reaction to Bakura's smile might have meant... love. And now Bakla, someone he barely knew, did the same thing to him.

Then he realized, they were merely sitting there, silently gazing into each other's eyes. But Tristan was barely paying attention, since he was practically in his own little world. The brunette swallowed, "I think..." he said, slowly.

"Yes?" the silver haired girl asked, her eyes shining, again.

"I think... I should..." Tristan swallowed, why was she looking at him like that? Like she knew him for a while. Like she wanted something. His heart started pounding harder. "I think I should... go start lunch... it's cold out... they'll want something hot..." he said, with a quick nod. He practically jumped to his feet, and walked to the kitchen with long, fast strides.

***

Bakura bit his lip, as he watched Tristan walk away, with his long- legged stride. "Tristan, what's wrong?" he thought.

He was starting to feel happy, almost at peace. Tristan's eyes, they carried a sense of tranquilty, sometimes. Which was the opposite of his usual lively, spirited gaze... And Bakura wanted to feel tranquil, during this dilemma of his.

But, the tranquilty he saw, confusion was mixed with it, as well.

Sighing, Bakura leaned back into the soft sofa, and went back to his crossword puzzle. He chewed on the pen a bit, as he thought. But not about the 5-letter word, for pretend. More along the lines of a lanky brunette, with golden-grey eyes.

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Nanaki: *swoons*

Nanashi: *taps her chin, thoughtfully* I can improve on this, I know it!

Nanaki: oh c' mon! It's so cute! Tristan confoozed! Bakura needing Tristan more than ever! WAI! I love it! *swoons, again* @____________@ LUVVIES TRISTAN/BAKURA SO MUCH MORE, NOW!!! *huggles her almighty spoon of hentai* WAI! ^______^

Nanashi: but I think I can improve it...

Nanaki: *eats a marshmallow* if you thay tho...

Nanashi: Oh yeah! The Two Towers is out today! WAI!

Nanaki: HENTAI!!! and isn't "wai" my word!?

Nanashi: *shrugs* No, not hentai! Lord of the Rings... which isn't mine... *grins* Legolas! Hopefully I can watch it ^_^ *crosses her fingers*

Nanaki: awwwwwwwwww, c' mon...! *whines*

Nanashi: here, Blue Lagoon Loon sends you a cookie *hands Nanaki the cookie*

Nanaki: WAI! COOOOOOOOOOOOOKIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! *squeals, and huggles her cookie* THANKIES BLUE LAGOON LOON! YOU ROCK!!! *strokes and pets the cookie*

Nanashi: *rolls her eyes* here it comes...

Nanashi&Nanaki: *Nanashi being sarcastic* My precioussssssss....

Nanashi: anywho... next chapter, comin up ^_^

Nanaki: *nods*