Chapter 3

Leaving Atem to pay the bill, Yugi dragged Téa outside. Once they were on the sidewalk outside the pizzeria, she reversed their positions, grabbing him in a tight hug. "Oh, I'm so happy for you!"

Eyes wide, he tried to pull away so he could stare at her. "Huh?"

"He's gorgeous -- and that voice! -- and he's definitely a better match for you than Seto Kaiba." She finally let him win free, only to deal him a friendly-but-accusatory bop on the shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me you'd come to your senses and stopped seeing Kaiba? Good choice, by the way. That man's not good enough for you."

Yugi darted a quick glance around, almost expecting his sometimes-casual-date to pop up and demand an apology or retribution -- or both. He ducked his chin. "Um, I'm sorta… stillseeingSeto."

Her eyes narrowed. "Run that by me again, this time at less than hypersonic speeds."

"I sorta am still seeing Seto," he mumbled, and dug the toe of his sneaker into a crack in the sidewalk.

"Yugi!" There was no mistaking the exasperation in her voice. "Please tell me you're joking."

He shook his head and shrugged one shoulder.

"I don't believe you!" She stared at him for a long moment, then her eyes got huge. "Whoa. I just realized… You're two-timing Seto Kaiba." She reached over and bopped him on the head. "I know you're still upset about last summer, but that's no reason to develop a death-wish."

"Very funny." He raked his fingers through his drooping bangs, which were succumbing to the humid night air. And then the accusation hit. "I am not two-timing Seto!"

"What else do you call it when you're dating both him and Atem at the same time?" She planted both hands on her hips, her entire posture settling into full lecture mode. Yugi swallowed a groan. "Have you even considered Atem's side of things? You're not being fair to him -- or Kaiba, either, but he doesn't deserve you in the first place, so my heart doesn't exactly bleed for him."

"Honestly, Atem and I aren't--" Yugi tried to interrupt, but she wasn't listening.

"Do yourself a favor and make a clean break. Let Kaiba down easy if it makes you feel better." She leaned closer, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't blow it with Atem. He's a keeper."

Yes, Yugi thought, I could keep him in a puzzle. He scrubbed at his face. "Things with Atem are kind of… complicated."

"They'd be a lot simpler if Kaiba wasn't in the picture."

"Téa!"

"I'm just saying--"

Yugi leaned back against the restaurant window and rolled his head to the side in order to watch Atem through the glass. How could he make her understand, without giving away Atem's secret? "I wish…"

As Yugi watched, the genie's posture stiffened for no apparent reason and he turned his head sharply to look at Yugi. Even as Atem stalked toward him, Yugi felt something warm and heavy appear in his palm. Looking down, he found a token in his hand. Uh-oh. Why--? Oh. He'd said "I wish," hadn't he?

"No, no, no!" he hissed, waving the genie off as discreetly as he could. "I didn't mean it!"

To his relief, the token vanished.

Weak in the knees, Yugi slumped against the window. He'd have to be more careful in the future; it would be too easy for him to waste a wish by being careless. Thank goodness for the token system, which gave him a few seconds to reconsider any wish he might voice.

"Earth to Yugi!" Téa waved a hand in front of his eyes. "You okay?"

"Just… thinking."

"About Kaiba?" She frowned at him.

"No, actually."

She brightened. "Were you thinking about Atem?"

He had been, but he wasn't admitting that to her. Besides, it wasn't anything like what she was obviously thinking. When he didn't say anything, she folded her arms and scowled at him. "Why are you being so stubborn about this? You know you'd be better off with someone other than Kaiba. He's a pompous, arrogant ass."

"Don't hold back, tell me what you really think of Seto." Yugi didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. At least she was distracted from speculating about the magic pizza.

She ignored his muttering. "Is Kaiba the only thing holding you back? Because I saw the way you were looking at Atem tonight, and it's obvious you're attracted to him. Don't even try to tell me you're not."

Well, Yugi wasn't blind -- or dead -- and Atem was a handsome man. So Yugi looked. No need to make a federal case out of it. "Okay, he's good-looking. I admit it. But that doesn't mean anything."

"'Good-looking'? Yugi, if I thought I stood even half a chance, I'd--" She cut herself off with a shake of her head. She reached out and fussed with Yugi's hair in a vain attempt to tame it. "So, what's the real problem, if it's not Seto? Why did the two of you break up in college?"

Oh, man… "We weren't even dating in college!"

"Why the heck not?"

"Look, he--" Yugi fumbled for an excuse. "I don't even know if he likes guys!"

Téa smirked. "If that's the only problem, you've got nothing to worry about. I saw the way he looked at you, too. Trust me, he's interested."

"Téa!" Oh, perfect. Now he was whining. Could this night get any better? Yugi decided he needed a few minutes to pull himself back together. "I left my cane in the car. I'm going to go--"

"If you won't ask him, I will."

"What? No!"

"Oh, here he comes now. Hey, Atem--"

And the moment of Yugi's doom had arrived. The genie strode out of the restaurant and straight into Téa's inquisitive clutches. Unable to watch, Yugi buried his face in his hands. Unfortunately, this didn't keep him from hearing her demand, "Do you like men?"

"What?"

Yugi peeked through his fingers in time to see Atem's eyebrows shoot up as he sent a confused look toward Yugi.

Oh, god. Yugi wondered if he could use one of his tokens to make the sidewalk open up and swallow him before he spontaneously combusted from the humiliation. Téa had always been like this, even when they were kids -- willing to do anything to protect her friends if she thought they needed it. Now, she had Atem cornered and she wouldn't let up until she was certain he wasn't going to hurt Yugi. The worst part was that Yugi knew that if Atem were a human man and not a genie, her concerns would be valid. Yugi could fall for Atem very easily. Maybe it was for the best that Atem was a genie. It spared Yugi even the possibility of rejection.

Straightening, Yugi stepped between the two of them. "I'm going back to the car," he muttered, and headed off at a fast clip without waiting for a response from either of them.

Atem and Téa caught up with him before he had gone more than ten feet. Yugi sighed at the unfairness of being surrounded by tall people with long legs. They continued their interrupted conversation over Yugi's head.

"Quit stalling." Téa reached over and poked at Atem. "Do you like Yugi or not?"

Atem's aloof mask was firmly in place. "You did not ask me if I liked Yugi," he pointed out. "Your question was far more general."

"Argh! Just answer the question!"

"Which one?"

"Do you like Yugi?!"

"What business is it of yours?" Atem countered.

Téa planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Yugi is my best friend and I don't want to see him hurt. If you're just planning to lead him on--"

"I assure you, my presence here is not intended to harm Yugi in any way. My services will be of a direct benefit to him."

Téa stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him for a full ten seconds before breaking out into a delighted laugh. "Wow. There's nothing wrong with your self-esteem, is there?" They had reached the car, and she slid past them to take her place in the back seat. "Okay, stud. Here's hoping you live up to your hype." She winked at Yugi in the rearview mirror as he eased behind the wheel.

Yugi fought the urge to pound his forehead on the steering wheel and wondered if telling

Téa the truth could possibly have been worse than this. Now she thought Atem was some kind of, of… Words failed him, though the phrase "sex machine" popped into his head and refused to leave. He slid a look at Atem, who was staring out the window, entranced by the neon signs on the shops lining the street and blissfully unaware of the thoughts ricocheting off the inside of Yugi's skull.

Groaning, Yugi headed the car toward the mall. They had survived dinner, but he had the sinking feeling the real test would be getting through the movie with Atem's secret -- and Yugi's sanity -- intact.