Chapter 8

"Character Development!"

"I'm terribly sorry," Bakura said, "I hope I didn't frighten you too badly." They were all sitting in the room that the boys shared, and Bakura had returned to normal when they woke him up.

"I-it's okay," Tsuki said, giving a nervous smile. She was sitting next to Yugi and holding his arm tightly, still clearly shaken. Yugi, on the other hand, was more unnerved by the fact that he had a girl clinging to him, than the previous near-outbreak of violence that had just occurred.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry I bashed ya, back there, Bakura," Tristan said.

Bakura gingerly rubbed the bump on the back of his head, "I suppose if the Spirit was acting up, it was all for the best," he said, "I just wish he'd take his injuries with him when he leaves."

They all had a small laugh at that and then Mai turned to Tsuki, "Honey, where are your parents? Shouldn't they be with you? It's getting late."

"Oh, their meeting probably ran late," Tsuki said, "And they forgot to call. They do that sometimes."

"Well," Yugi said, "If you want, I'm sure Tea wouldn't mind if you stayed in her room tonight."

"Sure," Tea nodded, "You can leave a note in your room to let them know where you are when they do get home."

Tsuki smiled for real for the first time since they'd met her, "That'd be great! Thank you so much!"

"Hey, Yug," Joey said, grinning slyly, "Wouldn't you rather she stay here in our room?" He raised an eyebrow teasingly and Yugi felt himself go beet red.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Joey!" he cried, spazzing with his one free arm.

"That's Yugi for you," Mai said, leaning back in her chair, "A gentleman to the end."

"Unlike some people," Tea said, glaring at Joey and Tristan, who both grinned widely.

"Speaking of sharing rooms," Mai said, "Tea – would you mind if I bunked out with you and the kid? I'm a little short on cash these days."

"I'd like that," Tsuki said, looking to Tea, "Can she?"

Tea would've liked nothing more than to turn Mai down, but everyone was watching and she didn't want to seem jealous or mean or anything. After all, the guys all loved Mai (but what guy wouldn't?). She sighed, and then forced a smile, "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

"Thanks, hon," Mai said.

So it was settled. Tsuki finally let go of Yugi's arm and all three girls crossed the hall into their room. Yugi sighed and then felt someone watching him. He looked up – to find that all three of his roommates were grinning at him. "What?" he asked, already knowing (and dreading) what was coming next.

"So, whadda ya think of her, Yug?" Joey said, smirking.

"What are you talking about?" Yugi asked, blushing.

"Sure, she's scrawny now," Tristan said, "But give it a few years, and I'm sure she'll start developing – if you know what I mean."

"Would you guys knock it off!" Yugi cried, frustrated and spazzing.

"Oh yeah – he's got it bad," Joey said and Tristan nodded confidently.

"Go what…?" Yugi asked, this time truly confused.

"The hots for that girl," Joey said simply, and Yugi went an even deeper shade of red.

"Come on, guys," Bakura said suddenly, "Knock it off. If Yugi doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't have to."

"Yeah! Yeah!" Yugi said hurriedly, "Thanks Bakura."

"Certainly," Bakura nodded, "After all, your feeling for the girl aren't really any of our business."

"Man, you're no fun," Tristan sighed.

Joey put a hand behind his head, "Sorry, Yug – guess it was kinda insensitive."

"It's okay, but just drop it, alright?" Yugi said.

"No sweat," Joey said, as Yugi stood up and headed for his part of the room, "We can talk more tomorrow!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the girl's room, Mai was surveying the territory. "Only two beds, eh?" she said, "I guess that means somebody's gonna have to share."

"I don't mind," Tsuki said.

"Me neither," Mai told her, putting a hand on the little girl's head and ruffling her hair, "You can stick with me."

"Okay!" Tsuki said, smiling, "I sleep better if I have something to snuggle anyway."

'Snuggle?' thought Mai and Tea at the same time.

"Um…" Tea began, "Maybe that's not…"

"Don't worry about it," Mai said, waving off Tea's worry, "I think I understand what she's saying. When you were young and had a nightmare, didn't you always crawl into bed with your parents? It's a security thing. This poor girl's been through a lot today, haven't you, honey?" she said, patting Tsuki's cheek.

Tsuki nodded, "Yeah…but I feel a lot better now, thanks to all of you."

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm exhausted," Mai said, "Hanging around with you guys never fails to wear me out. I say we get some shut-eye."

"I'm all for that," Tea said, going over to the dresser. She gathered up her night-clothes and headed for the bathroom.

"Is that really necessary?" Mai asked, and Tea turned. Mai was sitting on one of the two beds now, opening up the duffle-bag she'd been carrying. "I mean we're all girls here, aren't we? Now let's see if we can't find you anything," she said to Tsuki, who was sitting next to her.

Tea felt herself go a little red. Change if front of them? It was one thing when she was forced to do so for Gym class at school, but this was completely different!!

"What are you afraid of?" Mai asked, not even looking up, but sensing her nervousness, "Ah! Here we go!" She pulled a pair of nightshirts out of the bag and handed one to Tsuki.

Stiffly, Tea sat down on the second bed and set her things down. Mai stood up and pulled her cloak off over her head. Underneath, she had a new version of the outfit she'd worn at Battle City; this time it was a dark plum color. Tsuki was untying her tie and pulling off her sweater (she had been dressed in her school uniform).

Reluctantly, Tea began unbuttoning her shirt. She cast a wary glance over at Mai and found she was pulling the strings loose on her top. When she finished that, she slipped it off, exposing her sexy, halter-top, black bra. Tea looked down at her own pale pink one and wished there was some way to get her night shirt on without letting Mai see it.

Tsuki, who had now stripped down as far as her white, sleeveless undershirt, found herself staring at Mai in a sort of jealous wonder. "They're so big…" she said under her breath. Mai caught her eye, and grinned sympathetically. Tsuki clapped both hands over her mouth and turned away quickly. "I'm so sorry!" she said, "I didn't mean to…"

"Hey, don't sweat it, kid," Mai said putting an arm around the girl's shoulders, "Those will be coming soon enough. You've just gotta be patient, that's all. As for you…" she said, looking over at Tea, who cringed at being noticed, "I'm afraid you've done all the growing you're going to do."

"I didn't ask for you're opinion," Tea said, going red again.

"Sorry," Mai said, realizing she'd struck a nerve, "But I'm just being honest." She let go of Tsuki and looked down at herself, "Besides – it's not like these babies guarantee happiness, you know."

"Huh?" Tea looked up, confused, "Uh…what do you mean?"

"I'm still single aren't I?" Mai shrugged, adjusting herself absent-mindedly, which was making it very hard for Tea to take her seriously, "Trust me – you've got just as much chance as anybody to score a good boyfriend. Sometimes it just takes them a while to find you."

"Yeah…" Tea nodded, actually taking to heart what Mai was saying. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

"Yep," Mai said, "Guys are stupid that way." Then she slipped off her skirt, revealing black, lacy panties that matched her bra, "Sometimes you just have to help them get the hint."

Tea's eyes went line-and-dot. 'Then again…maybe I shouldn't change my mind so fast…' she thought.

Mai pulled the nightshirt over her head and sat back down, as Tsuki did the same. Tea finished changing as well and climbed into the bed. Mai through back the covers on her bed and Tsuki climbed onto the mattress. Mai slipped in next to the girl and pulled the covers up over them both. "You get some sleep now, okay? I don't want to hear a sound."

Tsuki nodded and Mai kissed her forehead. "Good night," Tsuki said, her eyelids drooping already.

"Yeah, ditto," Mai said, settling in, "Sleep well, Tea."

"Huh? Oh, yeah…you too…" Tea said, shutting off the light.

All three of them lay in the darkness in silence, only the light of the moon shining in every time the clouds parted. But as calming as the night was, Mai couldn't quite get to sleep, despite how drained she was. She sighed, and then felt something shift on the mattress and looked down. Tsuki had rolled over in her sleep and had wrapped her arms around Mai's mid-section. Mai smiled softly, and stroked the girl's ebony hair. Something about this felt right. She figured it was her maternal instincts kicking in, which surprised even her. But she didn't really want to give it much thought. Soon she too drifted off to sleep.

* * *

In the boys' room, each one was sprawled out on their own bed, snoring.