B-o-n-d-s

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! But I do own my freaky imagination. Ha! Beat that!

Author Notes

Joey and Mai drabble! Woohoo! Although they bicker most of the time, they're still so cute together ÷squeals and earns a few funny looks in return÷

Ahem, moving on...

Perfection

Joey × Mai

He was sitting in her car lazily, one arm outstretched to the side to feel the cold surface of her blue cabriolet. The seat in front of the steering wheel was empty, its occupant standing calmly ahead, letting the salty water of a cool ocean graze her bare feet. Her boots were placed beside her neatly, resting oddly on the pebbles.

Her hair was swaying in the mild breeze and his eyes dropped slightly; he remembered a dream he had once about her and him, except she was standing over the cliff, watching the unruly waters underneath. She looked so peaceful and serene, so surreal under the enchanting light of the sunset.

He shook his head a bit to shake the memory away; this wasn't a dream – this was real.

She met him on the street, casually starting a conversation between them. How long has it been? Weeks? No, months when he last saw her, waving a goodbye to all of them and winking at him, making him blush and stutter at the curious looks he was getting from others.

Meeting her today in the street was definitely a surprise, and an even greater one followed when she said she was going to the beach and offered to take him on a ride, as well.

And how could he refuse?

He grinned almost impishly when one, bubbly wave suddenly appeared and crashed over her shins, making her squeak in surprise. It was autumn and the water was colder now, but she wanted to go to the beach. She liked the ocean.

He sighed, deciding he had enough of just sitting in the car like a decorative plant and with a click, he pushed the doors open, stepping outside and closing them with a thud.

He glanced at the magnificent outline of the cabriolet almost wistfully for a moment, wondering when would he have a car like that and when would he come to pick her up, instead of being the other way round. He really hated his financial and social situation sometimes, but he knew that he could never achieve anything even close to what Devlin or Kaiba had. He was simply not the kind of guy to roam around in business suits and attend social events. Surely, he enjoyed bragging about his duelist skills sometimes, who didn't but-

"You like it that much, huh?"

Her voice, melodic and always so confident snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned around quickly to look at her and noticed that she was facing him now, eyes glistening in amusement.

"What?" He asked, puzzled for a moment by her inquiry. She shook her head, giving him that famous Mai Valentine grin that usually made his insides churn.

"You've been staring at it for a good five minutes," she replied, the smile never faltering. He realized what she was talking about and blushed slightly at the comment. Scratching the back of his head, he apologized clumsily, not knowing himself why. Maybe because he could see that bemused shimmer in her eyes for a brief moment, wondering if she was perhaps upset because he was paying more attention to her car than to her. He never knew with Mai, anyway. Girls were confusing.

"It's okay," she said calmly after a moment of comfortable silence and turned around again to look at the ocean.

Not wanting to waste their time together, he took a few steps forward, approaching her slowly and then stopped when he finally reached her. He never knew when she would leave again and leave him behind. Maybe this was a great opportunity to finally tell her how he felt about her...Or maybe not? He gazed at her curiously.

Waves of blue danced and crashed over the ocean, but more interesting were the waves of blond and golden that were dancing and playing over her face and back. Amethyst eyes looked fiery red on the sunset and he blushed again when she looked at him and caught him staring at her. He quickly turned his head away, kicking a nearby pebble into the water, just to do something.

"Hey, Joey," she said slowly, a note of nervousness creeping into her voice suddenly. She looked at him when he looked at her and he gulped, suddenly seeing something different in her eyes. It was something warm and assuring, something so overwhelming that managed to make his heart beat faster, his breath quicken and his head swim. He felt a twinge of disappointment when she turned her head away, glancing at her feet and murmured:

"Never mind."

They were standing like that on the beach, like two, mismatched statues, longing to touch and hold each other but never able to make a step forward and create perfection. But her eyes were so hopeful and buoyant. Maybe she...

He jerked a bit visibly, for some, to him, unknown reason, his hand rising in the air to reach for her. Almost like in a dream he had so many times before, he expected her to vanish, to dissipate into thin air. He even expected to see her crumble and fall under his touch, but his fingers grasped silky locks firmly and his eyes widened slightly.

She raised her head quickly, startled, and looked at him in surprise. His breath faltered for a second, chocolate eyes searching amethyst ones.

She was staring at him stiffly, not blinking, something akin to hope and anticipation evident in her wide orbs, and as his hands crept slowly to touch her face, her eyes closed softly. She leaned into his touch, tilting her head a bit to really feel the slightly callused skin of his palm.

He realized he couldn't stop himself from falling towards her now. It was too inviting, too warm hearting not to give in. It was too late for that now.

The tidal wave crashed against their feet, soaking their clothes and his shoes. The salty water covered the pebbles possessively then left them again to glisten on the setting sun. Wind made them shiver slightly, but they didn't care.

On the beach, beside the blue cabriolet, two statues, two shadows finally reached each other in pure perfection.

Started and finished – 07/02/2005

Last words- Uhm...well, you wouldn't believe it but it's past midnight again. I hope writing fics at this hour won't become a habit because I know I'll scare people away when I'll wake up in the morning. Anyway, too mushy, perhaps? Yeah, I know, but I couldn't help myself. ÷sticks her tongue out÷

Thanks to reenas-as (gah, sometimes I wish I could just call you reen...o.o) and Cat Alex for reviewing!

-Alena-