Lu: Well, I'm finally done. I started this one before I wrote the Four Loves, but I just kinda gave up. But it's finally finished! Finally! I got a sudden inspiration for the middle, but fizzled out at the end. Anyway, here's the fic. It's a songfic to Blink-182's song down. You can find out the rest for yourself. ;)

Yami Lu: Make sure you review, 'cause if you don't.

Lu: One last thing: I have gone through and taken out the lyrics because of new rule. Hope this doesn't upset anyone. This is now a fic based on Blink-182's down.

Down

by Luthien-Anwaman

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." - Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge

-

Joey pulled the car over without saying a word. The car's engine spluttered into silence as he yanked the key out of the ignition. Everything in the car was deathly quiet, save for the steady beating of the raindrops on the car's windows. An uncomfortable shuffling sound informed him that Mai was getting restless.

"Listen, Mai, I had a great time tonight…" began Joey, but the sentence trailed off into nothing as he turned to look at her. She looked too beautiful for words, her elegant black dress hugging her in all the right places. Joey was a bit put off by this, to say the least. Mai turned to look at him, her violet eyes searching his very soul, or so it seemed to him. She had an expression on her face, which clearly said 'Go on', but Joey couldn't find the words he needed. He shook his head slightly, and Mai turned back to the windscreen, looking disappointed. Joey turned his sight back to that as well.

He was parked next to Mai's apartment block, which was next to the ocean. A few scattered trees sat between the car and the beach, but other than that, all he could see was water. It glinted in the moonlight, reflecting the moon and countless numbers of stars. Despite this seemingly perfect night time weather, light wisps of clouds over the city could be seen. Over Mai's neighbourhood, the clouds were slightly thicker, and the shimmering falling from them seemed like glitter against the deep blue sky. In actual fact, it was raining, and the raindrops pattered across the roof of the car gently. Joey looked back at Mai. Her head was tilted to one side, and she was looking dreamily out over the ocean.

"I've never seen it look so beautiful…" she murmured, but she seemed to be talking to herself, and Joey had no intentions of replying. He looked down at his hands, and found that he had been wringing them subconsciously.

Joey reflected on the evening. He had asked her if she wanted to go to a duellist party with him, as every other duellist going to be there seemed to have a date. Mai had accepted, on the one condition that he actually make an effort with his appearance. He had no clue how he would do that, so he turned to Téa and Serenity for help. They gave him a full 'make-over', sitting him down for hours and getting him to try on all manner of clothes. In the end, they agreed on some black jeans, red shirt and jacket, which they accompanied with some sneakers and his dog chain. They also made some attempt with his hair, getting it trimmed and dragging a comb through it. When they had finished, he looked acceptable, which was some improvement.

Mai, on the other hand, looked stunning. She was wearing a black mini-dress, which she accompanied with huge dangly earrings and a simple silver necklace. It was likely that no one had helped her prepare, although Serenity and Téa had spent a couple of hours at her house after helping Joey. Joey had picked her up, and had lost his breath when he had seen Mai.

...-flashback-...

Joey rang the doorbell, going over some rehearsed lines in his head.

'You look great Mai... no, you look beautiful Mai... no, she may think that's too full on... stick with you look great Mai,' he thought. He took a few deep breaths, and stepped back as Mai's apartment door swung open. What he saw made the words stick in his throat and left his mouth dry. Mai was standing in the doorway, clutching a little black handbag, and smiling sweetly at him. It wasn't often that he saw Mai without a smirk or a grin on her face, but now she was gazing at him, her eyes full of sincere happiness.

"Hey Joey," she greeted cheerfully. "I see you've made an effort, so I won't have to abandon you." When Joey didn't reply, she cocked her head to one side. That snapped Joey back to his senses.

"Y-yeah... s-Serenity and Téa h-helped out," he stuttered, sounding nervous yet hopeful. When Mai looked at him sceptically, he added, "OK, well, dey did da whole thing."

"You let a couple of girls give you a make over?" she giggled. "If someone else asked you out, would you let me give you a make over?" Joey blushed, but Mai linked arms with him and led him down the stairs and to the car.

...-end flashback-...

Joey and Mai had then proceeded to the party, where they had met the rest of the gang and their 'dates', called so because they were not technically together. Yami, who had received his own body since Battle City, had brought Téa to the party. Yugi had, with Yami's encouragement, asked Rebecca Hawkins. Duke had invited Serenity, but Serenity had already accepted an offer by Tristan, so Duke had been forced to ask one of his bimbo fan girls. Kaiba had invited Ishizu Ishtar, and Marik had gone alone.

The party was enjoyable, although Joey got slightly irritated with Mai and her matchmaking techniques. By the end of the night, she had managed to get Tristan and Serenity together, Yami and Téa blushing like mad and Yugi and Rebecca unable to tear their eyes away from each other. Téa had also used her own matchmaking skills to get Kaiba and Ishizu together (although Kaiba was furious at her by the end), and attempted to get Joey and Mai together, although the plan had slightly backfired when Mai tried to get her and Yami together at the same time.

Joey shook his head. Mai and Téa had been nearly insufferable for him and Yami, who kept to the side, quietly discussing duelling while their dates set everyone up. But here he was, Mai in his car, and suddenly the night didn't seem such a waste.

Mai turned to him suddenly. He looked up, aware of her eyes on him. She began searching his face with her eyes, looking for something. He wanted to turn away, anything to get those penetrating eyes away from his own eyes. After all, eyes are windows to the soul, and he didn't want Mai looking into his just yet. But he found that he couldn't tear himself away from her eyes. Usually they were filled with mystery, as she managed to break the above proverb and conceal her own feelings. But now…

Now they seemed lost, desperate, alone. Joey was dimly aware of Mai's hands moving, laying her bag on the backseat, but her eyes never left Joey's. Without even realising he was doing it, he found himself leaning forwards, and Mai leaning towards him.

Their lips brushed against one another.

This kiss wasn't passionate, nor was it filled with love and longing. It was a simple, sweet, innocent kiss, shared between two people who had feelings for each other without knowing it. Neither of them wanted to take it too fast, and neither of them wanted to end their friendship by doing so. Mai broke away abruptly.

"I'm sorry, Joey," she muttered, not meeting his eyes. "That wasn't meant to happen." Joey stared at her, dumbstruck. That wasn't meant to happen… Her words echoed in his head. What did she mean by that? Did she mean that she simply got carried away, and didn't love him? He looked down at his hands again. Neither seemed to have anything to say, so silence reigned the car once again.

"I'm… I'm sorry too Mai…" said Joey hoarsely. "It was my fault as well…" He wanted to say more, that he liked it, and that he didn't mind if she wanted to do it again. But all thought of saying something left him when he glanced up and saw her gathering her belongings and opening the car door.

"I guess I'll see you later," she said awkwardly. Joey wanted to stop her. He didn't want her to leave him. This was the perfect time to confess his feelings for her, and she was walking out on him.

"No, wait..." he said quickly, placing a hand on her arm. She turned back to him, but her eyes were flashing with anger. She hated to be touched without her consent, even by a close friend. He released her arm, his palms suddenly sweaty.

"Don't go..." he mumbled. Mai paused, then got out. Joey's heart sank. But Mai approached his door and opened it.

"Would you like to come upstairs?" she offered, holding out her hand for him to take. Joey considered it momentarily, and accepted, placing his hand in hers.

"Thanks for dis, Mai," he started, but Mai used her free hand to place one finger on his lips, silencing him immediately. Mai let him close and lock the car, before leading him back up to her apartment. Joey had never actually been inside her apartment, only seeing the living room from her doorway. But as she pushed open the dor, her saw what he had been missing out on.

The whole room was painted in the softest shade of lavender imaginable. In fact, until Mai flicked on the light, it seemed white. The carpet was also lavender, but a much darker shade. Some sofas and lounge chairs with blue floral designs were arranged around the wooden coffee table and T.V. cabinet. There were some small steps which led up to a corridor and an open kitchen.

"Are you coming in?" said Mai, who was already inside and placing her handbag on the coffee table. Joey nodded wordlessly, stepping inside gingerly. Mai, straightening up, looked at him expectantly.

"It's... nice..." he mumbled cautiously. He knew it was a feeble answer, and he actually loved the apartment. However, he couldn't manage more than one syllable per word when he was in Mai's apartment, on his own with her, and her in a sexy black dress, as she was. Mai cocked an eyebrow.

"Only nice?" she asked. Joey blushed, and shook his head quickly and violently.

"It's great, really. I'm just a little..." He trailed off, as he knew that the truth would make her feel uncomfortable. He finally came up with, "... tired...", but Mai rolled her eyes and settled herself down onto the sofa. When Joey didn't move, she beckoned him and patted the space next to her. He headed over, feeling rather sheepish.

"Well, Joey, is there anything you want to tell me?" she asked softly, as if she were talking to a particularly slow and sensitive child. Joey remained silent, staring at his hands which were clasped, resting on his knees. Unable to get him to look at her, Mai put one hand on top of his, and put her other hand under his chin, gently but firmly tilting it upwards.

"Yeah… I wanted ta tell you… ta tell you…" How much I love you. How much you mean to me. How much I would risk just to be at your side forever. "How much I care about you. When you were gone, in Battle City… I didn't know what I was meant ta do. You were so… cold… and I couldn't do anythin' about it! I tried ta take it all out on Marik, but it was my fault too. I promised I wouldn't let anythin' happen you. But ya still got hurt. You still got sent ta the Shadow Realm. I tried ta set it right. I tried ta save you, by defeatin' Marik. But I couldn't. If I had said one more word, I would 'ave won! But I was weak. I lost, and couldn't save you because I was too weak ta say one word!"

Joey accompanied this speech with large and dramatic hand movements. The last sentence seemed to destroy a barrier that he built up. He smashed his hand onto the coffee table in front of them. His shoulders began to shake, and his eyes and teeth were clenched. He felt a hand run up and down his back, and looked up into Mai's concerned face.

"Hun… none of that was your fault. It was Marik's fault, and you know it. You were lucky to be standing after that hit from the Winged Dragon of Ra. And I'm alright now, aren't I? You've always been here for me Joey. You were there when Jean-Claude Magnum kidnapped me. You were there when I was about to be attacked by the Winged Dragon of Ra. And you're here now. We're both alive and well, and we're both friends. Isn't that the most important thing?"

Joey could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. Mai could see them too, as she wrapped her arms around him and drew him to her. His tears splattered onto her lap, but she didn't seem to mind. She rocked him backwards and forwards, and he gladly took the comfort she offered. They sat like that for a long time, long after Joey had stopped crying. His head rested on her shoulder, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. Mai might have said that he was asleep if she hadn't known that he was never this calm when he was asleep. She ran her hand through his hair and heard him sigh in contentment.

Finally, Joey sat up. "Thanks Mai. I think I needed dat. I've never really spoken much about what happened at Battle City. Nobody wants ta listen."

"Don't think that Joey. You know any of your friends would listen to what you had to say. Your sister would too. And what do you think I was doing then?"

They both fell silent again. Mai looked away, into the corner of the room. Joey stared at his feet, feeling uncomfortable. He knew what he had to do. Mai had trusted him enough to let him in her house, even if he was a guy, and he knew that he had to tell her how he felt. All this time, he had kept it inside. He had never told anyone, although he knew that almost everyone knew anyway. But now, he knew it was time to let go of his stubbornness and tell her.

"Umm… Mai?" he began. Mai turned to him, looking confused and curious. Joey gulped. The way that she was looking at him was scary. Her eyes sparkled, and they seemed an even brighter violet than usual.

After a couple of seconds of nothing, Mai asked, "What is it Joey?" Joey snapped back to reality.

"Err… well… what I really wanted ta say was-" A loud ringing interrupted him. Joey swore inwardly as Mai went to pick up the phone.

"Hello, Mai Valentine speaking. Yeah, he's here. Sure, I'll go get him." She turned to Joey. "Joey, it's your Mum."

"Hello?" said Joey cautiously, taking the phone from Mai.

"Joseph Wheeler! You were meant to be home an hour ago! What are you still doing at that woman's house? Tristan brought Serenity straight home and left! And yet you're still there an hour after that party finished!"

"Ma, I'm sorry-"

"You better be sorry, young man! You are coming home this instant!"

"Ma-"

"Don't try to talk back to me either! Just what have you been doing there for an hour? 'Making out'? Feeling each other up?"

"MA, I'M TRYING TA TELL HER DAT I LOVE HER, OK?" With this, he hung up, leaving his mother speechless and furious on the other end of the line.

"Joey…" said Mai's voice from behind him. He was breathing heavily, but he didn't turn around. He could hear Mai's footsteps as she approached him from behind. "Joey… look at me…"

When he didn't move, Mai put one hand on his shoulder and spun him around. Refusing to look at her, he stared at his feet. He heard Mai sigh, and she took his face in her hands, just as Joey did in her duel with Marik. He couldn't ignore that, so he looked straight at her.

"Is this true Joey?" she asked softly. Taking a deep breath, Joey nodded. There was a moment's pause. Joey didn't even dare to breathe. He closed his eyes, not wanting to looking into her piercing eyes for a second longer. And then…

He felt something warm touch his lips. His eyes flew open, only to find Mai's face right in front of his eyes. She was kissing him. Shocked but esctactic, he closed his eyes and returned the kiss, only interested in Mai. The kiss became more heated and passionate as their lips parted and their tongues met. Mai had long since released Joey's face, instead latching her arms around his neck. His arms had fastened themselves around her waist. Their lips never parted as Mai moved backwards, dragging Joey with her. They edged down the hallway, into her room. They collapsed on her bed, and still their lips never left each other.

Mai was the one who broke the kiss. She drew back and smiled, a radiant smile which made Joey want to make her smile even more. "So... I guess dat means ya love me back, huh?" asked Joey gingerly. Mai giggled, curling up as if to keep herself warm.

"What do you think?" she answered, snuggling close to him. Joey put his arms around her, feeling like he was living on a cloud. He couldn't believe that he was lying on Mai's bed, with her in his arms.

"I figure you wouldn't have been kissing me fa ten minutes if you didn't," he replied reasonably. Mai didn't say anything, only nodded.

They lay there quietly for a while, as they simply savoured the feeling they had been deprived of for so long - the feeling of simply being with the one they loved and knowing that they returned that love. Finally, Mai drew back. Joey was shocked to see tears dampening her cheeks.

"Mai, what's da matter?" asked Joey, concerned. Mai shook her head, smiling again.

"Nothing's the matter. That's the point. It's so perfect. I'm so happy." Joey returned her grin. They lay like that for a few moments, when a thoughtful look crossed Joey's face.

"Hey, Mai, do ya mind if I stay tha night? It's just, Ma will be really pissed at me afta dat... so if ya have some spare room somewhere... or I could sleep on tha couch..."

"No, you can sleep here."

"As in... here? In this room?" said Joey, gesturing around. Mai nodded shyly. Joey leaned forward and kissed her quickly. Mai giggled, but it was muffled against his lips. When they broke apart, they both sighed blissfully and gradually drifted into sleep.

-

Lu: Well, how was that? Not too bad, I hope. You never know, I've actually got ideas of how to continue this. What do you think? Should I continue it, or leave it as it is? Please review!