Disclaimer: Not much to say, I guess.

Anyway, during my off-duty time from FODHMC and Remix, I decided to do another one-shot. Actually, this is for Light Storm as a thank-you. (Sorry if I can't pull Serena off; I've never written for her before.) Serena is Light Storm's oc, btw.

Anyway, onward and upward!

OfDuelists and Guardians

Joey's Apartment

Now, for the most part, Joey Wheeler attempted to avoid dueling in his own home; it stirred up a sort of irrationality and "home field psychosis" he preferred to keep out of the game because of how it conflicted with the card play. This was ironic, because as a person he was extremely irrational most of the time, but many things change when entering a duel. Friends become foes, foes become archrivals, and loved ones…well, that's a whole other story. A story that Joey was rather well versed in.

He was never entirely sure how he had been roped into doing this; it was very rare that his will was swayed, and when it was the results were often broken noses and bloody hands. So he could not understand, even years later, how a certain someone had convinced him to a duel in his house on a chilly September eve.

What he was certain of was how the match ended.

"King of Faeries-Oberon, attack Joey's life points directly to end the duel!"

It was always thus with him and Serena. Every time they dueled, she would pull off some amazing strategy that would break apart Joey's defenses or quell any offensive he might have had at the time, and any attempts to retaliate were soon after dismantled. She had mastered every possible nuance of her deck, refining it so that the end result was a force to be reckoned with.

And the inevitable attack of the last monster seemed to reflect this in every match, as was demonstrated by the added severity of the Shakespearean monster's swipe across the face. (Joey: 0/ Serena: 2150)

He never did feel the tumble across the floor at times like this. Such pain as this was often masked by another emotion, one he had never really been able to understand. At first he had pegged it as humiliation at his defeat, and this was what he had continued to believe…until quite recently.

"Jeez, how the hell do you do it? That's five tries and I still can't beat you."

His opponent, if such a word could be used, leaned back to the wall slightly as she shuffled her deck. It was very surreal watching her do this; to Joey, the motion made her seem to transition from duelist to ordinary girl, and it was a transition he liked very much.

"What are you talking about? If I hadn't drawn Oberon and Lightning Vortex when I did, you would have finished me."

"Yeah, but you did draw them, didn't you?"

Serena could not help but smile at this. That was why she loved hanging out with Joey; no matter what the situation, he always made her feel good, like a warm blanket, so to speak.

"Seriously, Joey, you're getting better. Who knows? Maybe in a month or two you'll actually be able to beat me."

"A month or two! Yeah, right! I'll defeat you way before that!"

Joey knew that this wasn't the case, of course, but for him, hope always needed to be kept alive. It was how he had survived as long as he had, through the pain and misery in his life that was so very prevalent. But nowadays he did so solely to help him get all the stronger.

And yet, he could never muster the strength to do the one thing that had been gnawing at him for weeks.

"So whaddya wanna do now, Serena?"

"Hm…well, I told my parents I'd be home around ten. We could just sit around and talk for a while."

Serena could tell this made him somewhat nervous. Having lived the life she had lived in Aqua, she had always been able to pick up on discomfort. However, this skill had always lacked in one aspect: figuring out why the person was uncomfortable in the first place.

For a while, at least.

It only took a second for Joey and Serena to reach the single two-seater couch he had in his living room, and with little else to do with the cable out they simply leaned back in their respective seats and talked. Dull as life was around that part of town, two people could always find a weird sort of contentment simply by sitting next to one another, chatting about things that meant nothing and yet meant everything.

Throughout all of this, Joey continued looking at her, and all else was drowned out. In the back of his mind he could feel the vibrations of sounds, but even those ceased to be in coming moments. Life itself seemed to short out, becoming instead an image of Serena: her flowing red hair; eyes that were of a shade of green that was not quite emerald, yet still lovely; creamy skin that simply begged for touch…

He could do nothing else. So his words decided to do it for him.

"Uh…Serena…"

His timing, however, could not have been worse, for in that instant Serena started up in a panic.

"Joey, it's almost half past nine. I have to get going."

In his mind, the duelist slapped himself. He had been such a fool; how could he not have noticed?

"Wha…"

It was all falling to pieces as he watched Serena pick up her Duel Disk and the miscellaneous products she had brought along. He could have asked her at least a dozen times, but like an idiot he had missed them.

And like in his duels with her, he would now have to pay the price. It had taken him months to work up the courage, and now it was all for naught.

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!

He'd screwed up, yet again, and this time it had been a massive screw-up.

Joey could feel nothing now except regret, and seemed to lose all sense of self as he sloped back into the seat. Time slowed down to a sort of molasses speed, and any emotions he did have were dying off.

After only a moment, it was done, and Serena was almost ready to leave when she noticed Joey, forlorn and barely able to blink.

It only took her a second to figure out what to do about it.

"Uh, Joey, can I ask you something?"

He looked up at her with blank, glazed eyes, the eyes of a man who lost everything.

"There's a dance this Friday at the Yoko Tetsuna Club, and I was wondering…well…"

There was a spark in his eyes now, she could sense it.

"Well what?"

"I was wondering…if you'd like to go. With me."

"You mean like a date?"

Serena gave him another one of her sparkling smiles that answered the question perfectly.

"I'd like that."

In her mind, Serena breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she had been able to ask him out, something that for the life of her she could not do. It was almost magical how it worked out.

And now, there was but one thing left to do.

"Joey, how long have you been planning this? I mean, did you know how I felt, or…"

She didn't go on any further. The crushing sensation of Joey's lips against hers, and his tongue dancing along her own, saw to that.

"That answer your question?"

FIN

Whistles Well, never thought I'd do 3 romance oneshots before. Gotta admit it's cool.

Anyway, here it is, Light Storm. Hopefully I pulled Serena off well enough. Be honest, seeing as I've never written for her before.