Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! and its characters aren't mine...
Nanaki: DO A LITTLE DANCE...!!!
Warnings: shounen-ai... so to speak, and... uhhh, probably sappyness... oh yeah, a mildly hentai Joey, just for this chapter *shrugs* it just seemed to work... gomen v_v()
Nanaki: MAKE A LITTLE LOVE...!!!
Nanashi: ... and sorry for the wait... I had to... *blinks*
Nanaki: GET DOWN TONIGHT...!!!
Nanashi: *anime sweatdrops* Nanaki...?
Nanaki: GET DOWN TONIGHT...!!!
Nanashi: STOP for a second, please!?
Nanaki: ACK! geez... sorry, lil' miss moody *sticks out her tongue*
Nanashi: *blinks* moody? *shrugs* arigatou... v.v ahem... shall we begin?
Nanaki: *nods* ^_^
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Joey yawned loudly as he shuffled down the hall, towards the kitchen. Then he stumbled into the doorframe, while rubbing his eyes and smacking his lips. "Whoops..." he mumbled to himself.
"Either you're always this graceful in the mornings, or you swallowed some mouthwash, again..."
Joey looked up, squinting slightly, since the kitchen's lights always seemed bright to those who just woke up. Then he spotted Tristan sitting at the table. "Huh... hey, Tris'... you're up early..." Joey commented, with another yawn.
Tristan smiled, a very small smile. Then he shrugged, "yeah, I guess it is kinda early..." he agreed softly, as he went back to staring into his coffeemug.
"Uh-oh..." Joey said with a frown, then he walked over, pulled out a chair and sat down. "What's up?"
Tristan looked up at him, "Hm? Nothing..."
"You lyin to me? That hurts, Tristan! I thought we were friends!" Joey said, clutching his chest, in mock pain.
Tristan smiled, faintly. But it seemed kind of forced. Joey frowned, again.
"Seriously, what is it?"
"Nothing..."
"Ya know I hate it when you say it's 'nothin', when it's obviously 'somethin'... now spit it out! Before I beat it outta ya!" Joey commanded, waving his fist in Tristan's face in a very half-hearted way, to show that he was kidding. But he did want to know what was wrong.
Tristan shook his head, "I... never mind, Joe... seriously... just, never mind."
"Pssh..." the blonde scoffed. "You think I'm gonna ignore my best friend's problems... you gotta 'nother thing comin!"
Tristan smiled. A genuine smile, as he sighed. "Fine, I... uhh, couldn't sleep last night..."
"Uh-huh..."
"So... I went into the livingroom... you know, for something to do... it was pretty cold, so I made a fire..."
Joey pursed his lips, "you nearly burned down the livingroom again, last night, didn't you?"
Tristan shook his head, ignoring the attempted joke. "Bakla... came in..."
Joey frowned, and leaned against the table, his brow furrowed. "Uh- oh...?"
"I... I dunno... it didn't seem so bad at first... well, actually, yeah, it kinda did... no wait, it wasn't bad... wait... I... okay, Joey... hit me when I start rambling, okay?"
Joey smiled, faintly, "sure thing, pal..."
Tristan pulled his chair up closer, and leaned against the table, staring hard at Joey. "She came in... I didn't know what to think... she looked cold, I invited her over, and... we kinda just sat there, quietly... then she..."
Joey's eyes widened, then jammed his finger Tristan's face. "YOU HAD SEX WITH HER!?"
Tristan's eyes widened, stunned, "WHAT!?"
Joey jumped to his feet, still pointing at the brunette. "IN THE LIVINGROOM!? YOU DOG! I THOUGHT YOU WERE A SAP! IN THE LIVINGROOM!? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE BEDROOM?!"
Tristan started to turn red. "NO, JOEY!" he snapped, sitting Joey back down, glaring at him. "I... No! Nothing like that! What do you take me for?!"
Joey shrugged.
"You honestly think she would...!? And that I would...!? Joey! It's only been a couple days!"
Joey shrugged, again.
Tristan rolled his eyes, and took a breath. "Look... She just started asking me all these things about Bakura, and... and, I dunno... it started getting a little too intense, because she was looking at me, really intense- like... as if she WANTED me to say that I was in love with Bakura..."
Joey rested his chin in his hand, as he watched his friend with his eyebrow raised, looking kind of bored, if not confused.
"You don't think that's weird?" Tristan asked.
Joey lowered his eyebrow, then raised the other, "so... no sex?"
Tristan slapped his forehead, "Joey! Get your mind out of the gutter!"
Joey grinned, and straightened up, "I'm kidding...!"
Tristan sighed, and let his head fall against the table, with a dull 'thud'. "Joey! I'm glad you're trying to keep things light, here... but I need your help, alright?"
"Hey, you know me, pal... anythin for a friend..." Joey said, with a quick nod, as he patted Tristan's shoulder.
Tristan looked up at him, "okay, thanks... may I finish now?"
"Not done yet?"
"Not exactly... but, it's not a long story if that's what you're worried about..."
"Nah... I'm just hungry..."
Tristan rolled his eyes, "alright.. fine... long story short... I kissed her..."
Joey was already up, looking through the cupboards. "Kissed who?"
Tristan pursed his lips, "the toothfairy..." he said, sarcastically. Then he stood up, "who do you think!?"
Joey frowned, "Bakla..."
"Yeah..."
"You kissed her...?"
Tristan nodded.
"Not the other way around...?"
Tristan shook his head.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Joey narrowed his eyes, staring hard at Tristan. "You're absolutely positive...?"
Tristan furrowed his brow, and searched his memory. Then he sighed, "okay... it was like, 50/50... why's it matter?"
Joey grinned, mildly amused, "dunno.... just makin sure..."
Tristan grimaced. "You had decent advice for me last time, now look at you!"
"Hey, I'm hungry..." Joey said, with a shrug.
The taller teenager sighed, "yeah... I noticed... thanks anyway, Joe..." Then he turned, and started to walk to the livingroom.
Joey sighed, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. "Tristan, wait..."
The brunette stopped.
Joey walked up to him, eating the apple. Then once he swallowed the bite, he clapped his hand on Tristan's shoulder. "Alright, this is what you gotta do... you gotta be alone for a while..."
Tristan blinked, "what..!?"
"Not like that... I mean, 'alone'-alone... you need to sort out your thoughts... you don't need other people's advice, Tris'... you need to find out what your heart wants... got it? And you can only do that if you have time to yourself... alright?"
Tristan stared at his best friend, in astonishment.
Joey blinked, "what?"
"How do you do that?!"
Joey shrugged, taking another bite out the apple. "What do you mean?" he asked, with his mouth full.
Tristan shook his head, "maybe you function better on a full stomach..."
"Probably..." the blonde agreed, with a grin. Tristan smiled, then walked towards his room, shaking his head in disbelief.
~~~***~~~
About a few minutes later, Kaiba stepped into the kitchen. Then he raised an eyebrow at Joey, surprised to see him awake at all.
"Why aren't you back in bed?" he asked, dryly.
"It's quarter to 7... I'm hungry... so sue me..." Joey answered, as he poured milk into a bowl of cereal. Then he frowned, "why're you up?"
"Hearing someone yell, 'YOU HAD SEX...' tends to wake some people up..." Kaiba said, with a subtle shrug, as he poured himself some coffee.
Joey turned pink, "you heard?"
Kaiba shot him a look.
"Uhh, hey, Kaiba! Heh... uhhh..." Joey racked his brain, to think up an excuse.
No need to though, apparently.
"I'm assuming by 'her', you never meant Tea... and seeing as I heard Tristan walk past my room, he must've been the only other one awake... so, you were screaming about Tristan and Bakla, weren't you?" Kaiba asked, looking oddly nonchalant.
Joey gulped, then shook his head, "no! Nuh-uh! They didn't do anything!"
Kaiba nodded, leaning against the counter. "Figured as much... Bakla doesn't seem the type... and Tristan... he seems too old-fashioned..."
"Heh, you noticed that, too... huh?" the blonde said, with a small grin.
"More or less..." Kaiba replied calmly. He frowned slightly, as he watched Joey. "So... what's wrong with you?"
"No offense, Kaiba... but it's too early for a heart to heart..." Joey said, with a sigh.
"Not too early to eat, but too early for a simple discussion... that's strange..."
Joey frowned, then leaned back in his chair, staring at the table thoughtfully. Blinking, he looked up, glancing at Kaiba. It was as if he were waiting for Joey to say something.
Okay, so he made it obvious when something was bugging him...
"Fine..."
Kaiba looked at him, in the corner of his eye, expectantly.
"It's about Tristan..."
"And Bakla..."
Joey blinked, "y-yeah... how'd you find out, anyways?"
Kaiba shrugged, "I'm not stupid, Joey... even I can notice complications in matters of the heart..."
Joey raised an eyebrow, "wow... that's deep..."
The CEO frowned, as he walked up to the table, and sat down. "Well?"
"'Well' what?"
"Care to fill me in?"
"Uhhhh... it's not exactly any of your business, Kaiba..."
Kaiba watched Joey, still looking deadpan. "Well, now it is..."
"Since when!?"
"Since it's obviously bugging you..."
Joey blinked, again. Kaiba actually seemed almost... caring, right then. A bit of a surprise.
Joey sat up, resting his elbows on the table, watching Kaiba carefully. He had to be kidding. Nope, there were no signs that he was kidding.
"Alright... here's how it is..."
Kaiba tilted his head slightly, waiting.
Joey swallowed. 'Sorry, Tris'... he thought. 'You try sayin "no" to Seto Kaiba'. Then with a sigh, the blonde duelist spoke up. "Tristan, he has really serious feeling for Bakura..."
Kaiba smirked faintly, "really? Haven't noticed..."
"No sarcasm, alright...?"
Kaiba shrugged, then gestured for Joey to continue.
Joey nodded. "Okay... then Bakla shows up, stirrin up all these same feelins that Tristan has for Bakura... so it's kinda confusin for him... ya know, what with Bakla being here, and Bakura not bein here..."
Joey glanced at him, to see if the CEO was still following. Kaiba nodded, so the blonde kept talking. "And Tristan's been gettin these same reactions towards Bakla, the way he'd react around Bakura... and he's gettin kinda weirded out by it... so now the guy's kinda at a loss... and then last night, they kissed... so now he seems even more confused..."
Kaiba frowned, slightly, "why is it bothering you so much?"
Joey sighed, "he's my best friend... I don't like seein him go through somethin like this... he's a good guy, and needs a decent, lovin person in his life..."
Kaiba smirked inwardly, feeling a twinge of admiration for Joey's loyalty. 'Guess I was right to call him Puppy', he thought. Then the CEO frowned, "you're worried over nothing, Joey... whoever Tristan chooses, I don't think it'll be a bad decision..." Kaiba said, simply.
Joey raised an eyebrow. Words of comfort, from Kaiba, to him. Weird. "Huh?" was all the blonde managed to say.
"Bakura, or Bakla... they seem almost..." Kaiba started to explain, then he suddenly had a thought. "Almost... identical..." he murmured, thoughtfully.
Joey blinked, "what?"
Kaiba stood up, "how're you feeling, Joey?"
Joey blinked, again, "huh?"
"How're you feeling?"
The blonde shrugged, then noticed he did feel more at ease. "Uhhh... better... thanks, Kaiba..."
Kaiba nodded, "sure... I thought your friendship with Yugi and Tea would've taught you to spit out what was bothering you..." he said, dryly. What surprised Kaiba was that he wasn't using his snide tone.
Joey didn't deserve it. Not then, at least. Kaiba blinked, noticing Joey give him a grateful smile. Or grin.
Kaiba smiled back. A very small smile, but a smile nonetheless. Then he turned and headed for the door.
"Hey... where you goin? We were bondin..." Joey said, instantly in a good mood for some reason.
"Gotta leave before I have the urge to kiss you..." Kaiba replied, as he walked out.
Joey turned beet-red, while Kaiba furrowed his brow, confused. Both had no idea where the statement came from... and if the CEO was kidding, or not.
~~~***~~~
"Just get out, please?" Bakura ordered, shoving Yami Bakura out the door. Yugi blinked, as he walked up to the thief, whom was glaring viciously at the door.
"Uh, good morning, Yami Bakura..." Yugi said, slowly.
"Hn," Yami Bakura replied, as he rolled his eyes, and folded his arms.
"Ummm, what's going on?"
"He refuses to let me go back to the Ring!" the yami spat. Yugi blinked. He? The small boy brightened.
"You know!"
Yami Bakura looked down at Yugi, "yes... I know... Bakura told me you knew, too..."
Yugi nodded, "yeah..." then he smiled. "How are you taking it?"
The thief rolled his eyes, "I'm not fond of the concept of my reincarnated form being a GIRL," Yami Bakura grunted. "But I have accepted it..."
Yugi blinked, "why do you want to go back to the Ring?"
"I'm tired..."
"Why won't Bakura let you in...?"
"He's changing..." Yami Bakura said, with a roll of his eyes.
"Well, it's kind of rude to stay in the same room with a girl who wants to change..." Yugi pointed out, trying not to laugh.
"That's not the point! Bakura's forgetting his place!"
Yugi smiled, obviously amused. "What do you mean?"
"I...! He...! He won't...! HE DOESN'T LISTEN ANYMORE!"
Yugi laughed. Then Bakura walked out, hands on his feminine hips, dressed in his regular clothing, the same image of normal Bakura, only more feminine, obviously.
"What're you complaining about now?" he/she demanded, looking annoyed.
"You! You will start hearing me out! Understand!" Yami Bakura snarled, jamming his finger in Bakura's face. And the 'girl' simply smacked his hand aside.
"Don't start... I forgot to inform you that I'm going through 'that thing that women go through', okay!?" Bakura growled. "So don't push me...!"
Yugi blinked, then stepped back. The tomb robber's eyes widened, then he hid behind Yugi, nervously.
"You're taking it pretty well, Bakura... why aren't you panicking?" Yugi asked, curiously.
Bakura folded his arms, sighing. "Tea explained it to me... so, I might go through moodswings, get cramps, and maybe have a strange craving for chocolates... though that part I don't understand..." then he rolled his eyes. "This whole experience just keeps getting better..." he muttered, sarcastically.
Yami Bakura and Yugi looked at eachother, perplexed. Sarcasm from the sweet innocent Bakura. It was a little unsettling.
"The reason you'll be craving chocolates is due to the chemical that has a comforting effect..." Kaiba was saying, answering Bakura's statement about chocolate, as he walked up to the trio.
Bakura blinked, then cleared his throat, hastily. "Oh... uh, thank you, Kaiba..."
Kaiba ignored the thanks, as he stood directly in front Bakura, watching him very carefully. Then he looked the 'girl' over, head to foot, then up again. He leaned in close, not breaking his gaze with Bakura.
Yugi blinked, "what're you doing, Kaiba...?"
Yami Bakura scowled, "Kaiba...?"
Kaiba ignored them, as he cupped Bakura's chin in his hand. Then he tilted his face upwards... and turned his face left, then right. Kaiba then leaned in closer, still staring hard at him.
Bakura swallowed nervously. "Uhhh, as flattering as this all of this is, Kaiba... you're not my type..." he said, hesitantly. Kaiba blinked, then he smirked, as he let Bakura go.
"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable... Bakura..."
Yugi and Yami Bakura's jaws dropped. "Huh!?"
Bakura's eyes widened, "what!?"
Kaiba folded his arms, "can't believe you managed to fool me with that story..."
Yugi dashed up, "uhh, Kaiba! What're you talking about!? that's not Bakura..."
"Don't bother, Yugi... I'm not an idiot..." Kaiba said, with a roll of his eyes. Then he looked back at Bakura. "So... how long are you planning to keep this up?"
"Keep what up!?" Yami Bakura demanded.
"This whole charade..."
"Don't touch him...you really don't wanna do that... he slaps pretty hard" Yami Bakura hissed. Kaiba looked confused for a second, then shook his head.
"I'm not gonna touch him... well, Bakura?"
"It-it's not a charade, Kaiba... I... this wasn't my choice..."
"To be a girl... and it wasn't your choice...?" Kaiba asked, dryly. Then he turned to Yugi and Yami Bakura. "Just you two know?"
"Tea knows..." Yugi said, quietly.
"Okay, so let's just tell Joey and Tristan, and..." Yami Bakura started to say...
"No!" Bakura said, abruptly.
The thief blinked, "why not!?"
"Because! I... No! Anyone tells Tristan that I'm... Bakura... then...! Just, no! Please, don't..." Bakura said, his eyes showing that he was very serious.
"Moodswings..." Yami Bakura muttered. Yugi nudged him, shutting him up.
"Don't... just don't tell, alright!? Promise me! All three of you!" Bakura pleaded.
Yugi nodded, without argument. Yami Bakura sighed, then nodded. Bakura watched Kaiba, sternly. The redhead blinked, then sighed slightly.
"When Tristan DOES find out... it won't be because of me..." he said shortly. Then he turned and started to walk away. Only to pause, and glanced over his shoulder.
"You should tell him, Bakura... it'll save him the trouble of him having to try and choose between two people, who are actually the same person..."
Bakura blinked. Then he bit his lip, not bothering with a reply.
~~~***~~~
"I... I can't..." Bakura said, shaking his head, as he flopped down on Yugi's bed.
"Why not?" Tea asked, sitting in the armchair.
Bakura sighed. Thankfully, he avoided telling Tea and Yugi about his kiss with Tristan, otherwise Tea would be pressuring him even more than now.
"Because, Tea... When I do tell Tristan how I feel, I want it to be the real me... not something, I'm not... and Tea, in case you couldn't tell, I'm not really a girl..." Bakura replied, calmly.
"But, Bakura...!" Tea started to argue.
Bakura frowned, ready to argue, as well. Until Yugi spoke up. He sighed, as he looked up from his book, "Tea, stop... he's just not ready..." Yugi said, with a somewhat stern expression.
Tea blinked, then folded his arms, "try this, then..." she started to say...
Bakura and Yugi grimaced.
"No, no, no... before you both try judging my idea, hear me out..."
Bakura sighed, rolling over, and watched Tea expectantly. Yugi sat up, waiting. Tea jumped to her feet, "alright... I need someone to be Bakura..."
"Gee... don't pick me! After all, I'm just the real Bakura!" Bakura said, sarcastically. Yugi blinked again, still not quite used to the sarcasm Bakura was prone to using during his 'time.
Tea blinked, then shrugged, unfazed by the attitude. "Okay... Bakura, then... alright, pretend I'm Tristan..." she ordered.
Yugi raised an eyebrow, looking at Tea as if she were crazy. Bakura rolled his eyes, "Tea... I know what you're thinking... so no."
Yugi bit his lip to avoid laughing. Tea folded her arms, unfazed by the rejection of her idea. Afterall, she prided herself in being persistant.
"Get up, 'sister'..."
Bakura shot the real girl a look. Then sighed, realizing declining wouldn't do much good. So he got up, and walked up to her, folding his feminine arms. Tea grabbed his shoulders, looking him dead in the eye.
"This is a rehearsal... tell me what you would tell Tristan... alright?"
Bakura rolled his eyes, again. "Tea... this won't work..."
"Try!"
Bakura folded his arms, and shifted his weight from foot to the other. "Fine... Tristan... I, uhhh... have been debating whether or not to tell you this... especially like this..."
"Like what?" Tea asked.
Yugi blinked, while Bakura grimaced, "what're you doing!?"
"Tristan's the type who asks questions, okay? He's not the type to let answers slip past his fingers," Tea said, simply.
Bakura ran his hand through his hair. Okay, that was true. Taking a breath, he looked back at Tea. "Fine... like this... a girl..." he mumbled.
"What happened?" Tea asked, curiously. Bakura glared at her.
"I don't know!"
"Whoa, easy Bakura... you don't wanna go biting his head off when you're trying to tell him how you feel, do you?" Tea asked, sounding serious.
Bakura frowned, and folded his arms again. "Tea, you're purposely making this difficult, when you don't need to...!"
Yugi sighed, "she might be right, Bakura... we've known Tristan for a while now, and Tea does have his personality pretty well..."
Bakura shook his head, "never mind, Yugi, Tea... I'll... I'll just go tell him, now..." he said, then walked out of the room. Yugi stared after him, perplexed.
Tea blinked. Then they both looked at each other.
Well, this could not turn out well.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nanashi: hmmmmm, good? bad?
Nanaki: BAD!!! BAD! BAD! BAD! you're gonna get Bakura all emotional...!!! ya know!? the moodswings!!!
Nanashi: *smiles, evilly* more of an impact! *laughs, demonically*
Nanaki: *anime sweatdrops* uh-oh...
Nanashi: *blinks, then smiles innocently* what? anyways, yeah, I'm not satisfied with this chapter... so, I'll fix!!! *runs to write a different chapter 8*
Nanaki: *blinks* why not just use this chapter, and write chapter 9...?
Nanashi: *blinks* ................. interesting concept...
Nanaki: *snickers* yeesh... whywho... *turns on a sprinkler and runs around it, giggling insanely, and waving a marshmallow rabbit around*
Nanaki: DO A LITTLE DANCE...!!!
Warnings: shounen-ai... so to speak, and... uhhh, probably sappyness... oh yeah, a mildly hentai Joey, just for this chapter *shrugs* it just seemed to work... gomen v_v()
Nanaki: MAKE A LITTLE LOVE...!!!
Nanashi: ... and sorry for the wait... I had to... *blinks*
Nanaki: GET DOWN TONIGHT...!!!
Nanashi: *anime sweatdrops* Nanaki...?
Nanaki: GET DOWN TONIGHT...!!!
Nanashi: STOP for a second, please!?
Nanaki: ACK! geez... sorry, lil' miss moody *sticks out her tongue*
Nanashi: *blinks* moody? *shrugs* arigatou... v.v ahem... shall we begin?
Nanaki: *nods* ^_^
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Joey yawned loudly as he shuffled down the hall, towards the kitchen. Then he stumbled into the doorframe, while rubbing his eyes and smacking his lips. "Whoops..." he mumbled to himself.
"Either you're always this graceful in the mornings, or you swallowed some mouthwash, again..."
Joey looked up, squinting slightly, since the kitchen's lights always seemed bright to those who just woke up. Then he spotted Tristan sitting at the table. "Huh... hey, Tris'... you're up early..." Joey commented, with another yawn.
Tristan smiled, a very small smile. Then he shrugged, "yeah, I guess it is kinda early..." he agreed softly, as he went back to staring into his coffeemug.
"Uh-oh..." Joey said with a frown, then he walked over, pulled out a chair and sat down. "What's up?"
Tristan looked up at him, "Hm? Nothing..."
"You lyin to me? That hurts, Tristan! I thought we were friends!" Joey said, clutching his chest, in mock pain.
Tristan smiled, faintly. But it seemed kind of forced. Joey frowned, again.
"Seriously, what is it?"
"Nothing..."
"Ya know I hate it when you say it's 'nothin', when it's obviously 'somethin'... now spit it out! Before I beat it outta ya!" Joey commanded, waving his fist in Tristan's face in a very half-hearted way, to show that he was kidding. But he did want to know what was wrong.
Tristan shook his head, "I... never mind, Joe... seriously... just, never mind."
"Pssh..." the blonde scoffed. "You think I'm gonna ignore my best friend's problems... you gotta 'nother thing comin!"
Tristan smiled. A genuine smile, as he sighed. "Fine, I... uhh, couldn't sleep last night..."
"Uh-huh..."
"So... I went into the livingroom... you know, for something to do... it was pretty cold, so I made a fire..."
Joey pursed his lips, "you nearly burned down the livingroom again, last night, didn't you?"
Tristan shook his head, ignoring the attempted joke. "Bakla... came in..."
Joey frowned, and leaned against the table, his brow furrowed. "Uh- oh...?"
"I... I dunno... it didn't seem so bad at first... well, actually, yeah, it kinda did... no wait, it wasn't bad... wait... I... okay, Joey... hit me when I start rambling, okay?"
Joey smiled, faintly, "sure thing, pal..."
Tristan pulled his chair up closer, and leaned against the table, staring hard at Joey. "She came in... I didn't know what to think... she looked cold, I invited her over, and... we kinda just sat there, quietly... then she..."
Joey's eyes widened, then jammed his finger Tristan's face. "YOU HAD SEX WITH HER!?"
Tristan's eyes widened, stunned, "WHAT!?"
Joey jumped to his feet, still pointing at the brunette. "IN THE LIVINGROOM!? YOU DOG! I THOUGHT YOU WERE A SAP! IN THE LIVINGROOM!? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE BEDROOM?!"
Tristan started to turn red. "NO, JOEY!" he snapped, sitting Joey back down, glaring at him. "I... No! Nothing like that! What do you take me for?!"
Joey shrugged.
"You honestly think she would...!? And that I would...!? Joey! It's only been a couple days!"
Joey shrugged, again.
Tristan rolled his eyes, and took a breath. "Look... She just started asking me all these things about Bakura, and... and, I dunno... it started getting a little too intense, because she was looking at me, really intense- like... as if she WANTED me to say that I was in love with Bakura..."
Joey rested his chin in his hand, as he watched his friend with his eyebrow raised, looking kind of bored, if not confused.
"You don't think that's weird?" Tristan asked.
Joey lowered his eyebrow, then raised the other, "so... no sex?"
Tristan slapped his forehead, "Joey! Get your mind out of the gutter!"
Joey grinned, and straightened up, "I'm kidding...!"
Tristan sighed, and let his head fall against the table, with a dull 'thud'. "Joey! I'm glad you're trying to keep things light, here... but I need your help, alright?"
"Hey, you know me, pal... anythin for a friend..." Joey said, with a quick nod, as he patted Tristan's shoulder.
Tristan looked up at him, "okay, thanks... may I finish now?"
"Not done yet?"
"Not exactly... but, it's not a long story if that's what you're worried about..."
"Nah... I'm just hungry..."
Tristan rolled his eyes, "alright.. fine... long story short... I kissed her..."
Joey was already up, looking through the cupboards. "Kissed who?"
Tristan pursed his lips, "the toothfairy..." he said, sarcastically. Then he stood up, "who do you think!?"
Joey frowned, "Bakla..."
"Yeah..."
"You kissed her...?"
Tristan nodded.
"Not the other way around...?"
Tristan shook his head.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Joey narrowed his eyes, staring hard at Tristan. "You're absolutely positive...?"
Tristan furrowed his brow, and searched his memory. Then he sighed, "okay... it was like, 50/50... why's it matter?"
Joey grinned, mildly amused, "dunno.... just makin sure..."
Tristan grimaced. "You had decent advice for me last time, now look at you!"
"Hey, I'm hungry..." Joey said, with a shrug.
The taller teenager sighed, "yeah... I noticed... thanks anyway, Joe..." Then he turned, and started to walk to the livingroom.
Joey sighed, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. "Tristan, wait..."
The brunette stopped.
Joey walked up to him, eating the apple. Then once he swallowed the bite, he clapped his hand on Tristan's shoulder. "Alright, this is what you gotta do... you gotta be alone for a while..."
Tristan blinked, "what..!?"
"Not like that... I mean, 'alone'-alone... you need to sort out your thoughts... you don't need other people's advice, Tris'... you need to find out what your heart wants... got it? And you can only do that if you have time to yourself... alright?"
Tristan stared at his best friend, in astonishment.
Joey blinked, "what?"
"How do you do that?!"
Joey shrugged, taking another bite out the apple. "What do you mean?" he asked, with his mouth full.
Tristan shook his head, "maybe you function better on a full stomach..."
"Probably..." the blonde agreed, with a grin. Tristan smiled, then walked towards his room, shaking his head in disbelief.
~~~***~~~
About a few minutes later, Kaiba stepped into the kitchen. Then he raised an eyebrow at Joey, surprised to see him awake at all.
"Why aren't you back in bed?" he asked, dryly.
"It's quarter to 7... I'm hungry... so sue me..." Joey answered, as he poured milk into a bowl of cereal. Then he frowned, "why're you up?"
"Hearing someone yell, 'YOU HAD SEX...' tends to wake some people up..." Kaiba said, with a subtle shrug, as he poured himself some coffee.
Joey turned pink, "you heard?"
Kaiba shot him a look.
"Uhh, hey, Kaiba! Heh... uhhh..." Joey racked his brain, to think up an excuse.
No need to though, apparently.
"I'm assuming by 'her', you never meant Tea... and seeing as I heard Tristan walk past my room, he must've been the only other one awake... so, you were screaming about Tristan and Bakla, weren't you?" Kaiba asked, looking oddly nonchalant.
Joey gulped, then shook his head, "no! Nuh-uh! They didn't do anything!"
Kaiba nodded, leaning against the counter. "Figured as much... Bakla doesn't seem the type... and Tristan... he seems too old-fashioned..."
"Heh, you noticed that, too... huh?" the blonde said, with a small grin.
"More or less..." Kaiba replied calmly. He frowned slightly, as he watched Joey. "So... what's wrong with you?"
"No offense, Kaiba... but it's too early for a heart to heart..." Joey said, with a sigh.
"Not too early to eat, but too early for a simple discussion... that's strange..."
Joey frowned, then leaned back in his chair, staring at the table thoughtfully. Blinking, he looked up, glancing at Kaiba. It was as if he were waiting for Joey to say something.
Okay, so he made it obvious when something was bugging him...
"Fine..."
Kaiba looked at him, in the corner of his eye, expectantly.
"It's about Tristan..."
"And Bakla..."
Joey blinked, "y-yeah... how'd you find out, anyways?"
Kaiba shrugged, "I'm not stupid, Joey... even I can notice complications in matters of the heart..."
Joey raised an eyebrow, "wow... that's deep..."
The CEO frowned, as he walked up to the table, and sat down. "Well?"
"'Well' what?"
"Care to fill me in?"
"Uhhhh... it's not exactly any of your business, Kaiba..."
Kaiba watched Joey, still looking deadpan. "Well, now it is..."
"Since when!?"
"Since it's obviously bugging you..."
Joey blinked, again. Kaiba actually seemed almost... caring, right then. A bit of a surprise.
Joey sat up, resting his elbows on the table, watching Kaiba carefully. He had to be kidding. Nope, there were no signs that he was kidding.
"Alright... here's how it is..."
Kaiba tilted his head slightly, waiting.
Joey swallowed. 'Sorry, Tris'... he thought. 'You try sayin "no" to Seto Kaiba'. Then with a sigh, the blonde duelist spoke up. "Tristan, he has really serious feeling for Bakura..."
Kaiba smirked faintly, "really? Haven't noticed..."
"No sarcasm, alright...?"
Kaiba shrugged, then gestured for Joey to continue.
Joey nodded. "Okay... then Bakla shows up, stirrin up all these same feelins that Tristan has for Bakura... so it's kinda confusin for him... ya know, what with Bakla being here, and Bakura not bein here..."
Joey glanced at him, to see if the CEO was still following. Kaiba nodded, so the blonde kept talking. "And Tristan's been gettin these same reactions towards Bakla, the way he'd react around Bakura... and he's gettin kinda weirded out by it... so now the guy's kinda at a loss... and then last night, they kissed... so now he seems even more confused..."
Kaiba frowned, slightly, "why is it bothering you so much?"
Joey sighed, "he's my best friend... I don't like seein him go through somethin like this... he's a good guy, and needs a decent, lovin person in his life..."
Kaiba smirked inwardly, feeling a twinge of admiration for Joey's loyalty. 'Guess I was right to call him Puppy', he thought. Then the CEO frowned, "you're worried over nothing, Joey... whoever Tristan chooses, I don't think it'll be a bad decision..." Kaiba said, simply.
Joey raised an eyebrow. Words of comfort, from Kaiba, to him. Weird. "Huh?" was all the blonde managed to say.
"Bakura, or Bakla... they seem almost..." Kaiba started to explain, then he suddenly had a thought. "Almost... identical..." he murmured, thoughtfully.
Joey blinked, "what?"
Kaiba stood up, "how're you feeling, Joey?"
Joey blinked, again, "huh?"
"How're you feeling?"
The blonde shrugged, then noticed he did feel more at ease. "Uhhh... better... thanks, Kaiba..."
Kaiba nodded, "sure... I thought your friendship with Yugi and Tea would've taught you to spit out what was bothering you..." he said, dryly. What surprised Kaiba was that he wasn't using his snide tone.
Joey didn't deserve it. Not then, at least. Kaiba blinked, noticing Joey give him a grateful smile. Or grin.
Kaiba smiled back. A very small smile, but a smile nonetheless. Then he turned and headed for the door.
"Hey... where you goin? We were bondin..." Joey said, instantly in a good mood for some reason.
"Gotta leave before I have the urge to kiss you..." Kaiba replied, as he walked out.
Joey turned beet-red, while Kaiba furrowed his brow, confused. Both had no idea where the statement came from... and if the CEO was kidding, or not.
~~~***~~~
"Just get out, please?" Bakura ordered, shoving Yami Bakura out the door. Yugi blinked, as he walked up to the thief, whom was glaring viciously at the door.
"Uh, good morning, Yami Bakura..." Yugi said, slowly.
"Hn," Yami Bakura replied, as he rolled his eyes, and folded his arms.
"Ummm, what's going on?"
"He refuses to let me go back to the Ring!" the yami spat. Yugi blinked. He? The small boy brightened.
"You know!"
Yami Bakura looked down at Yugi, "yes... I know... Bakura told me you knew, too..."
Yugi nodded, "yeah..." then he smiled. "How are you taking it?"
The thief rolled his eyes, "I'm not fond of the concept of my reincarnated form being a GIRL," Yami Bakura grunted. "But I have accepted it..."
Yugi blinked, "why do you want to go back to the Ring?"
"I'm tired..."
"Why won't Bakura let you in...?"
"He's changing..." Yami Bakura said, with a roll of his eyes.
"Well, it's kind of rude to stay in the same room with a girl who wants to change..." Yugi pointed out, trying not to laugh.
"That's not the point! Bakura's forgetting his place!"
Yugi smiled, obviously amused. "What do you mean?"
"I...! He...! He won't...! HE DOESN'T LISTEN ANYMORE!"
Yugi laughed. Then Bakura walked out, hands on his feminine hips, dressed in his regular clothing, the same image of normal Bakura, only more feminine, obviously.
"What're you complaining about now?" he/she demanded, looking annoyed.
"You! You will start hearing me out! Understand!" Yami Bakura snarled, jamming his finger in Bakura's face. And the 'girl' simply smacked his hand aside.
"Don't start... I forgot to inform you that I'm going through 'that thing that women go through', okay!?" Bakura growled. "So don't push me...!"
Yugi blinked, then stepped back. The tomb robber's eyes widened, then he hid behind Yugi, nervously.
"You're taking it pretty well, Bakura... why aren't you panicking?" Yugi asked, curiously.
Bakura folded his arms, sighing. "Tea explained it to me... so, I might go through moodswings, get cramps, and maybe have a strange craving for chocolates... though that part I don't understand..." then he rolled his eyes. "This whole experience just keeps getting better..." he muttered, sarcastically.
Yami Bakura and Yugi looked at eachother, perplexed. Sarcasm from the sweet innocent Bakura. It was a little unsettling.
"The reason you'll be craving chocolates is due to the chemical that has a comforting effect..." Kaiba was saying, answering Bakura's statement about chocolate, as he walked up to the trio.
Bakura blinked, then cleared his throat, hastily. "Oh... uh, thank you, Kaiba..."
Kaiba ignored the thanks, as he stood directly in front Bakura, watching him very carefully. Then he looked the 'girl' over, head to foot, then up again. He leaned in close, not breaking his gaze with Bakura.
Yugi blinked, "what're you doing, Kaiba...?"
Yami Bakura scowled, "Kaiba...?"
Kaiba ignored them, as he cupped Bakura's chin in his hand. Then he tilted his face upwards... and turned his face left, then right. Kaiba then leaned in closer, still staring hard at him.
Bakura swallowed nervously. "Uhhh, as flattering as this all of this is, Kaiba... you're not my type..." he said, hesitantly. Kaiba blinked, then he smirked, as he let Bakura go.
"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable... Bakura..."
Yugi and Yami Bakura's jaws dropped. "Huh!?"
Bakura's eyes widened, "what!?"
Kaiba folded his arms, "can't believe you managed to fool me with that story..."
Yugi dashed up, "uhh, Kaiba! What're you talking about!? that's not Bakura..."
"Don't bother, Yugi... I'm not an idiot..." Kaiba said, with a roll of his eyes. Then he looked back at Bakura. "So... how long are you planning to keep this up?"
"Keep what up!?" Yami Bakura demanded.
"This whole charade..."
"Don't touch him...you really don't wanna do that... he slaps pretty hard" Yami Bakura hissed. Kaiba looked confused for a second, then shook his head.
"I'm not gonna touch him... well, Bakura?"
"It-it's not a charade, Kaiba... I... this wasn't my choice..."
"To be a girl... and it wasn't your choice...?" Kaiba asked, dryly. Then he turned to Yugi and Yami Bakura. "Just you two know?"
"Tea knows..." Yugi said, quietly.
"Okay, so let's just tell Joey and Tristan, and..." Yami Bakura started to say...
"No!" Bakura said, abruptly.
The thief blinked, "why not!?"
"Because! I... No! Anyone tells Tristan that I'm... Bakura... then...! Just, no! Please, don't..." Bakura said, his eyes showing that he was very serious.
"Moodswings..." Yami Bakura muttered. Yugi nudged him, shutting him up.
"Don't... just don't tell, alright!? Promise me! All three of you!" Bakura pleaded.
Yugi nodded, without argument. Yami Bakura sighed, then nodded. Bakura watched Kaiba, sternly. The redhead blinked, then sighed slightly.
"When Tristan DOES find out... it won't be because of me..." he said shortly. Then he turned and started to walk away. Only to pause, and glanced over his shoulder.
"You should tell him, Bakura... it'll save him the trouble of him having to try and choose between two people, who are actually the same person..."
Bakura blinked. Then he bit his lip, not bothering with a reply.
~~~***~~~
"I... I can't..." Bakura said, shaking his head, as he flopped down on Yugi's bed.
"Why not?" Tea asked, sitting in the armchair.
Bakura sighed. Thankfully, he avoided telling Tea and Yugi about his kiss with Tristan, otherwise Tea would be pressuring him even more than now.
"Because, Tea... When I do tell Tristan how I feel, I want it to be the real me... not something, I'm not... and Tea, in case you couldn't tell, I'm not really a girl..." Bakura replied, calmly.
"But, Bakura...!" Tea started to argue.
Bakura frowned, ready to argue, as well. Until Yugi spoke up. He sighed, as he looked up from his book, "Tea, stop... he's just not ready..." Yugi said, with a somewhat stern expression.
Tea blinked, then folded his arms, "try this, then..." she started to say...
Bakura and Yugi grimaced.
"No, no, no... before you both try judging my idea, hear me out..."
Bakura sighed, rolling over, and watched Tea expectantly. Yugi sat up, waiting. Tea jumped to her feet, "alright... I need someone to be Bakura..."
"Gee... don't pick me! After all, I'm just the real Bakura!" Bakura said, sarcastically. Yugi blinked again, still not quite used to the sarcasm Bakura was prone to using during his 'time.
Tea blinked, then shrugged, unfazed by the attitude. "Okay... Bakura, then... alright, pretend I'm Tristan..." she ordered.
Yugi raised an eyebrow, looking at Tea as if she were crazy. Bakura rolled his eyes, "Tea... I know what you're thinking... so no."
Yugi bit his lip to avoid laughing. Tea folded her arms, unfazed by the rejection of her idea. Afterall, she prided herself in being persistant.
"Get up, 'sister'..."
Bakura shot the real girl a look. Then sighed, realizing declining wouldn't do much good. So he got up, and walked up to her, folding his feminine arms. Tea grabbed his shoulders, looking him dead in the eye.
"This is a rehearsal... tell me what you would tell Tristan... alright?"
Bakura rolled his eyes, again. "Tea... this won't work..."
"Try!"
Bakura folded his arms, and shifted his weight from foot to the other. "Fine... Tristan... I, uhhh... have been debating whether or not to tell you this... especially like this..."
"Like what?" Tea asked.
Yugi blinked, while Bakura grimaced, "what're you doing!?"
"Tristan's the type who asks questions, okay? He's not the type to let answers slip past his fingers," Tea said, simply.
Bakura ran his hand through his hair. Okay, that was true. Taking a breath, he looked back at Tea. "Fine... like this... a girl..." he mumbled.
"What happened?" Tea asked, curiously. Bakura glared at her.
"I don't know!"
"Whoa, easy Bakura... you don't wanna go biting his head off when you're trying to tell him how you feel, do you?" Tea asked, sounding serious.
Bakura frowned, and folded his arms again. "Tea, you're purposely making this difficult, when you don't need to...!"
Yugi sighed, "she might be right, Bakura... we've known Tristan for a while now, and Tea does have his personality pretty well..."
Bakura shook his head, "never mind, Yugi, Tea... I'll... I'll just go tell him, now..." he said, then walked out of the room. Yugi stared after him, perplexed.
Tea blinked. Then they both looked at each other.
Well, this could not turn out well.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nanashi: hmmmmm, good? bad?
Nanaki: BAD!!! BAD! BAD! BAD! you're gonna get Bakura all emotional...!!! ya know!? the moodswings!!!
Nanashi: *smiles, evilly* more of an impact! *laughs, demonically*
Nanaki: *anime sweatdrops* uh-oh...
Nanashi: *blinks, then smiles innocently* what? anyways, yeah, I'm not satisfied with this chapter... so, I'll fix!!! *runs to write a different chapter 8*
Nanaki: *blinks* why not just use this chapter, and write chapter 9...?
Nanashi: *blinks* ................. interesting concept...
Nanaki: *snickers* yeesh... whywho... *turns on a sprinkler and runs around it, giggling insanely, and waving a marshmallow rabbit around*
