The Ties of Friendship

*~*~*

Rebecca picked out a single spaghetti piece and carefully twirled her fork around it. When she was sure it was on, she moved the fork to her mouth. Of course, the spaghetti came loose and flopped down on the corner of her mouth anyway. This had to be the most embarrassing meal she'd ever eaten at. Normally, eating spaghetti was an art for her. But with Yugi watching, nuh-uh.

She looked over at him, trying not to seem obvious. He picked up a fork, letting the spaghetti dangle off the sides, and crammed it into his mouth. The noodles poked out the sides, and he nosily sucked them in.

Rebecca couldn't help but giggle, and he flashed her an innocent look. Maybe hanging out with Joey and Tristan so often was bad for him, if he was learning these messy habits.

On the other hand… maybe he wouldn't mind if she stopped eating so primly now.

She twirled her fork in the center of her plate, picking up a big, messy lump with spaghetti dangling from the sides. Thinking twice, she put the fork down and tucked her napkin into the pretty dress, then picked up the fork again and carefully maneuvered it into her mouth. By tilting her head toward the ceiling, she managed to get all but a few pieces of spaghetti in all the way. She stuck her tongue out and managed to gather the rest in.

Yugi grinned at her, and stabbed his fork in the general direction of down. He lifted it out again with a piece of meatball on the end, and spaghetti hanging off. Carelessly, he shoved it into his mouth, and used the fork to coax stray noodles in.

She giggled again. The meal had taken a turn for the better.

*~*~*

Yugi took a forkful of spaghetti, managed to triumphantly cram it all into his mouth, and winked at Rebecca. It was her turn.

As she wiggled the fork around, trying to get the spaghetti to form a neat ball, Yugi took a small sip of water. Rebecca finally put the spaghetti-ball in her mouth, with only a few pieces protruding from her mouth. She used her tongue again to gather these up.

Why did she keep doing that with her tongue? It was making him decidedly uncomfortable.

Carelessly, he reached for a piece of garlic bread and bit into it. Immediately, he gagged, just barely managing to keep from spitting it back onto his plate. He forgot that his grandfather liked to go extra heavy on the garlic.

Curious as to what was wrong with the bread, Rebecca took a bite of her own.

Ack!

Yugi laughed silently as she choked on it, causing her to glare at him. Determined to prove… something… to him, she took another defiant bite.

Not to be outdone, Yugi ripped a piece off and stuffed it in his mouth, allowing the bread to stuff his cheeks, giving him a chipmunk-ish look that Rebecca found oddly appealing. Well, it suited him. Cute, adorable, sweet…

Oh, no. She was blushing again.

"That was delicious!" Arthur exclaimed, pushing his chair back and rubbing his stomach affectionately. "Thank you, Solomon!"

"Thank you, Arthur, for coming tonight," Grandpa replied, beaming. "And thank you for bringing your lovely granddaughter." For some reason, Yugi (who had taken a sip of water to counter all the garlic) spit the water back into his glass at this statement. Rebecca pretended not to notice, inwardly torn. Is that a good sign? Or a bad one?

"Oh, we had a marvelous time," Arthur beamed.

"Would you fancy a cup of coffee? And perhaps a game of Duel Monsters?" Solomon asked, hand unconsciously reaching for his dueling deck.

"I'd love to!" Professor Hawkins exclaimed, standing up.

"Excellent! We can go into the living room. Yugi, why don't you take Rebecca upstairs and you two can play in your room?"

For a second, Yugi wasn't sure he heard his grandfather right. Then for another second, he thought he was joking. "What?"

"You and Rebecca can just play in your room. Or 'hang out,' whatever you youths call it these days." Solomon winked at Arthur.

Yugi opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. First off, he was supposed to bring a girl into his bedroom? And not just any girl. He was supposed to bring Rebecca Hawkins into his room? And what about the mess? Not even Téa would go in there. Not even Tristan would go in there. Only Joey was brave enough, claiming it reminded him of home.

He glanced up then. Oh… I should have taught her more about patience when I had the chance. Rebecca was already halfway up the stairs.

*~*~*

The second Solomon had made his declaration, Rebecca bolted for the stairs, hoping that Yugi wouldn't see the lovely shade of tomato her face had turned. Maybe he'd think she just spilled sauce on it or something. Yes, it was that red.

"Which one is your room?" she called over her shoulder, curiosity rising. She'd never really been in a boy's room before, save her grandfather's. What was it like, anyway? Was it a whole new dimension? Did boys feel the same way about going into girl's rooms?

"Um, first one to your left," Yugi called, struggling to hurry up the stairs. "But you might not want to go in there… it's, um, kind of messy." He was silent for a moment, moving upwards, and Rebecca put her hand on the doorknob.

"Oh!" Yugi suddenly cried, startled. "Wait! Don't go in there! Yami's out!"

"Who's Yami?" Rebecca asked, even as she turned the door handle.

*~*~*

Yugi was in the room already. At least, that's what she first thought. But then she looked closer… and Yugi was different. He was taller, eyes more narrowed, hair slightly different. And he'd somehow changed clothes.

And he was bouncing on the bed.

And she could see through him.

"Oh!" she cried, jumping backwards. And into the real Yugi.

"Rebecca!" he cried, equally startled. He put a restraining hand on her shoulder as he peeked despondently into the room. Yami stopped his jumping, and turned to look at them.

"Er… hello," the spirit offered.

*~*~*

::cough:: Whoops, a cliffhanger again. Ah, well. Patience is a virtue. (That Rebecca is lacking) ^_^ Thanks to everyone who reviewed; you guys are the best. ~.^ I'll be seeing you in a week, then. (lucky you!)