Chapter 8 done and dusted- I hope you enjoy!

Young women and young men
Forgive us if you can
Abandon your best friends
Demanding, detriment

-Abandon Your Friends- Autumn to Ashes

Yugi grinned broadly as his opponent sank to their knees. As always, he felt a pang of sympathy for his defeated foe, especially as the duel had been broadcast live throughout the country. However, he could not hold back his own jubilant feelings of triumph; his title was safe, his winning streak was undefeated, and, most importantly, he had proven to himself and the spectators that he was just as good as he had always been. As the last of the holographic monsters buzzed and flickered away to nothing, Yugi tucked his deck back into its holder on his belt and walked over to where his opponent was climbing shakily to their feet. Still flushed with fatigue- the game took more energy than people realised!- Yugi put his hand out to the young woman opposite him. She had shoulder length, feathery brown hair, and lovely green eyes. Yugi had been impressed by her duelling skills and guts; she had handily beaten all her opponents and rapidly climbed to the top in recent months. Her game needed work, but Yugi could tell that she deserved her new rank as Number 2 behind himself. In the future she would be a real threat!

The young woman appeared to be surprised when Yugi extended his hand to her; blinking, she slowly took his hand in her own, a flush creeping up her cheeks. "Well done!" Yugi cried cheerfully. "You really had me running for a while there! That was one of the best matches I've had!" He only wished that he was a little taller as even this small, slender woman stood over a head taller than he- it was overall very embarrassing for Yugi, but by now his own petite build was as famous as his win rate, so he supposed he had to live with it.

The woman was stuttering and trembling with excitement. "Oh my God- Oh my God! I'm shaking Yugi Motou's hand! Yugi Motou! I can't believe it! Th-thank you so much, you're even better than they say you are! You really are the King of Games!" Yugi scratched his nose with embarrassment; he never really got used to the hero-worship that some duellists placed on him.

"Mr. Motou! Miss Takashi! May we have a shot of you two for the paper? The current Number 2 in the country and the King of Games himself, what an image!" a reporter fluttered about the two, his large lens giving off great bursts of light as he snapped photographs without waiting for an answer. The shutter noises of his and the other nearby cameras sounded like the clatter of many insects. Shrugging, Yugi pulled the girl closer and gave a sunny grin, his arm around her waist. He could feel the girl's heartbeat pounding in nervous excitement, her trembling obvious only to Yugi who was touching her body. The poor girl must be still be new to all of this, Yugi thought to himself as they posed for photographs.

Finally, Yugi felt that they had provided enough magazine fodder to satisfy the journalists clustered around them. Ignoring the catcalls and pleads for interviews, Yugi firmly turned his back on them and offered his opponent a final smile. "Well, until next time I suppose, Miss… Takashi?" The girl smiled back at him, her composure much more collected now. "Please, call me Cat! And thank you again for the great Duel, Yugi!" with a delighted laugh, she flung her arms around Yugi's neck and hugged him briefly yet tightly. "Next time, I'll be even harder to beat!"

Yugi could hear the camera shutters going into meltdown when she hugged him; the press would absolutely love those images! As Cat released him and turned away, waving merrily at the cameras, Yugi turned and slowly made his way out of the arena. He was tired; he had been participating in a 3-day long tournament and had been duelling all day every day to make up for his recent absence from the sport. However, it had been worth it, as he had cemented his undefeated record and ensured that nobody thought he was losing his touch. Now I have some breathing room and can get back to normal! He gave a mental sigh and wondered to himself if Joey and the gang had been watching his matches on TV. With a little flip of the belly, he wondered if James had watched. He knew that the other teen had no interest in Duel Monsters, but he did secretly hope that he had watched Yugi's match and seen the shorter boy in action- Yugi was proud of how he had performed this week.

With a sudden lurch, Yugi realised that his televised match could have been seen by anybody in the country. I wonder if… I wonder if he watched me duel? With a grimace, Yugi shook his head and pushed the thought away. Stop it! No good comes from thinking that way. He wasn't watching, OK?

Yugi's grandpa waved to him through the crush of people slowly existing the area. "Yugi! Over here!" Yugi waved back in recognition and began to push his way over; he was thankful that most people recognised him and moved aside to let him through, as being so short made navigating thick crowds particularly difficult. As Yugi reached his Grandpa, the older man threw his arm around his grandson's shoulders. "Well done Yugi my Boy! What a match! I am so proud of you!" Yugi placed his own arm around Solomon's shoulders and jostled him in return. With a slight excited churning of the stomach, Yugi's thoughts turned to Domino, where the gang, and James, waited for him.

"Thanks, Gramps. Now let's go home!"

As soon as the plane landed and they had found their car, Yugi whipped his phone out and turned it on. Immediately his screen began to flash with missed calls and text messages from Joey and Tea, and even a voicemail from Kaiba. With a broad grin, Yugi pressed 'reply' on the missed call from Joey and listened as the dial tone hummed in his ear. His stomach flipped with excitement- he had only been away for four days in total, but he had really missed the gang! He looked forward to catching up with them as soon as possible. Buckling his seatbelt, Yugi gazed out the window as his Grandpa pulled the car out of the parking space and began to drive to home.

The phone clicked. "YUG'! YOU'RE BACK?" Joey hollered down the phone as soon as the call connected. Yugi held the phone slightly off his ear, chuckling. "Hey, Joey! Just arrived. Where are you? Want to catch up?"

He could hear Joey murmuring on the line quietly to somebody, explaining that Yugi was back in town. "Yeh, sure thing man!" Joey cried. "Howsabout the Game Arcade in an hour?" Confirming Yugi's suspicions as to who Joey had been talking to, he heard Kaiba in the background groan in response to his boyfriend's suggestion of the Arcade. "Count me out, then, I'm not going to that dump. Tell Yugi I'll show him a real duel another time."

Yugi laughed as he heard Joey begin to abuse Kaiba in response. Hanging up on them, he knew that Joey wouldn't mind; knowing his blonde friend, he would have engaged Kaiba in a wrestling match and forgotten entirely that Yugi was still on the line by now.

Looking through the rest of his messages, Yugi tapped out a quick reply to Tea, telling her to meet him and Joey at the Arcade in an hour, as agreed. As his message sent, Yugi noticed with a slight pang of disappointment that James had not called or texted him; in fact, he had hardly heard from the brunette the entire time he had been away. Well, I suppose he doesn't really understand the game, and so probably doesn't know what to talk about. I'll invite him to the arcade too. With a quick tap, Yugi pressed the dial button and listened again to the familiar clicking hum as the call connected. It took a long time; Yugi was sure the call was about to drop out when the final ring was interrupted mid-tone.

"Yugi?" James' warm voice flowed through the phone, bringing a face-splitting grin to Yugi's expression. He realised with a small flush that he had really missed James. "James! Hey! Uh, I'm back! Just landed!" His voice was embarrassingly high-pitched and he coughed a little to try and clear it. Beside him, his Grandpa shook his head with silent mirth, causing Yugi to flush further.

James chuckled down the phone, the sound comforting yet also somehow suggestive. "Oh, good, I missed you. How was it? Can I come over this afternoon and hang out? I really can't wait to see you." Yugi looked out the window to avoid meeting his Grandpa's eyes. Despite his mortification over reacting like this in front of the older man, Yugi was thrilled to be talking to James again.

"Well, I was just talking to Joey, and we decided to meet up at the Game Arcade in an hour- how about you come meet us all there? I uh, I missed you, too." He really wanted the earth to swallow him up whole as his Grandpa coughed to hide a chuckle.

Suddenly Yugi realised that James had remained silent on the other end of the phone. "James? Can you hear me ok?" Yugi switched ears in a vain attempt to improve the cell reception. "Hellooo?"

James' voice made Yugi jump a little, convinced as he was that the call had dropped. The brunette's voice was curiously flat. "You rang Joey first? You're going to the Game Arcade?"

Yugi had the sudden mad feeling that he needed to apologise for something. "Y-yeah, well, I had a few missed calls from Joey, so I just called him back. That's ok, though, right? You don't mind the Arcade, do you?"

Again there was a hefty pause before James huffed down the phone in reply. "I just thought you might want to hang out, alone. I was looking forward to seeing you. I missed you." His voice was vaguely complaining. Yugi felt guilty; he had gone ahead and made plans with his friends before even talking to James. But he's never had any problem hanging out with the gang before now, so how was I to know he'd get put out?

Yugi wasn't sure how to respond. With a slight stutter, he replied "S-sorry, James, I didn't think. But we can hang out together after the Arcade, right? Come on, don't be mad, I'm sorry! Just come meet us and we'll go from there, 'kay?" From the corner of his eye Yugi noticed his Grandpa cocking his head slightly as though he were listening in. The old man's brow was slightly furrowed.

James sighed. "Yeah, sure. Ok. I'll see you in a bit." With the most cursory of goodbye murmurs, he hung up the phone before Yugi had a chance to reply.

Yugi stared at his dimming phone screen, his stomach flipping slightly. He felt like he'd done something to really upset James. I didn't mean to offend him though! I just wanted to see everyone again. He pouted slightly and looked out the window, his thoughts a jumbled mess.

Yugi threw his bag hastily down on his bed and stretched. I might get changed before I go to the arcade, he thought, yanking his shirt up over his head. Suddenly, his phone began to vibrate; an incoming call.

"Coming! I'm coming! Waiiit!" Yugi cried, struggling with the T-shirt; somehow, he had gotten his head and elbow stuck in the fabric. Stumbling toward the bed, and the source of the vibrating, Yugi grunted as he finally tore the shirt free of his hair. Leaping for the bed, he knew even before he grabbed his phone that he was going to miss the call. Puffing slightly, Yugi sank to the bed, waiting for the voicemail message to come through. As soon as his phone beeped with a new notification, Yugi had it up to his ear, listening.

"Hey Yugi, It's James." (Yugi's stomach tightened slightly) "Listen, sorry about earlier. I think I might pass on the Arcade though, I'm not feeling up to it. But if it's ok can I still drop by later? I'll see you soon, ok? Have fun, say hi to the guys for me." The voicemail ended. Yugi pondered the message he'd just heard. James had sounded really flat. I think he's really offended that I am seeing the gang before him, he thought. Perhaps I'll stop by his house quickly on the way to the Arcade and apologise properly. Feeling much better about this option, Yugi hurried over to his cupboard and dragged out a comfortable black sweater. Then, with a quick check to make sure his hair wasn't too messy, he shrugged and made his way out, texting Joey to say that he would be slightly late.

James' large purple eyes widened when he took in his visitor standing in the doorway. "Yugi? You're done at the Arcade already?" He threw the door open wider and stared down at his shorter boyfriend. Yugi grinned happily at him; as always, he felt immediately better when he looked into those large purple orbs. "Hey, James! Nah I haven't been yet; I thought I'd come say hi first!" Yugi smiled and gave a little embarrassed wave.

James' face split into a giant grin. "I'm so glad you came by! Come in!" He stood to the side as Yugi made his way inside, grinning down at the shorter teen. "Do you want a drink or something?"

Yugi peered around with interest; he had not been inside James' parent's house before. "I can't stay long, so just some water would be ni- eek!" Yugi wriggled with surprise as James engulfed him in a huge hug from behind, almost lifting the smaller boy off his feet entirely. With a chuckle that Yugi felt rather than heard, James bodily hauled Yugi over to the lounge room, throwing him unceremoniously onto the couch. "Argh! James, what-" Yugi was cut off as James wrapped his arms around the short teen and squeezed him hard enough to push the breath out of Yugi's lungs. Yugi wheezed comically as he tried to speak.

"I'm glad you came over; I missed you!" James cried cheerily into Yugi's ear. He nuzzled his nose into Yugi's hair, making the other teen blush horribly. "I just want to stay like this for a moment, 'kay?" All Yugi could do was nod weakly against James' shoulder, causing the brunette to squeeze him tighter again.

It was some time later that Yugi wriggled slightly to indicate that he wanted to sit up. Reluctantly, James released him, but remained sitting over the smaller teen on the couch, watching him closely. As soon as Yugi was properly upright, James grabbed his hands, looking at him imploringly. His long hair was in disarray, one eye covered by his silvery bangs.

"Stay." Yugi's eyes snapped up to meet James'; so similar in colour to his own, yet so different.

"I- I can't. I promised the gang. I'm already late-" as Yugi raised his hand to check the time on his watch, James grabbed it and pulled it down to hold both of Yugi's in one of his own. With his free hand, James threaded his fingers through Yugi's thick hair on the back of his head. Gently, but insistently, James pulled Yugi forward, as though to touch their foreheads together. Yugi closed his eyes; this action was so familiar to him, yet so painful to recollect. It seemed a million years ago that his Other had done the same thing.

He was utterly unprepared then, when James' lips met his own.

It was a tentative kiss, but definitely a kiss. Yugi stiffened with surprise, causing James to pause for a moment, before pushing deeper, pressing his mouth harder against Yugi's with insistence. Yugi was at a loss to how to respond; this was his first real kiss, and he had had no idea it was even coming! After seconds, minutes, hours, who could tell?- James pulled back, breaking the contact, but waiting mere inches from Yugi's face. His breath was coming slightly rougher than usual.

Yugi was scared, excited, confused; what happens next? His heart was thundering in his chest and he felt oddly close to tears, or perhaps hysterical laughter. He flushed hot and cold all over. Yugi opened his eyes and stared directly into those large familiar purple eyes, boring into his with a flaming intensity. His mind went blank; those eyes always did this to him.

"Stay." This time, Yugi nodded weakly, his chest aching. James grinned broadly.

Joey jumped a little as his phone vibrated in his pocket, causing Tea to look up from the newspaper she was reading with Duke. Yugi's photograph was splashed across the front page, his adorable face flushed with triumph and pride. Nearby, Ryou was playing Whack-a-Mole with Bakura, who so far had succeeded in cracking the plastic on the casing twice and had almost broken Ryou's fingers with his soft rubber mallet. Ryou kept glancing about nervously, on the alert for the arrival of Yugi, and probably with him, James.

Joey quickly whipped the phone out of his pocket and flipped it open with one hand, the other busily occupied with scooping up another piece of floppy pizza. As he read the message however, his hand stalled, the food dangling halfway to his mouth. His brow furrowed, Joey read the message a second time.

"Joey? What's the matter?" Tea gently pulled the piece of pizza out of Joey's grip and placed it gingerly back on the paper plate. Joey did not answer at first, so she poked him in the cheek.

"Ow! Oi! Ehh, sorry Tea, I was just readin'. Seems Yugi ain't coming now." Tea frowned and leaned over his shoulder to read the text message.

**Hi Joey, sorry, can't make it after all. Grandpa needs my help with something. I'll see you tomorrow!**

"Oh, well, that's a shame, but I guess he can't help it if his Grandpa asked him to stay home. Poor Yugi, he must be so worn out, too! We can hang out with him another time." Tea stood up and plucked at Joey's sleeve to bring him to his feet. The gang slowly filtered out of the Arcade, Ryou looking infinitely relieved, Bakura gleefully stuffing the stolen mallet into his backpack. Joey trailed behind, his expression stony. Opening his phone again, he scrolled down his messages to read another that he'd received not so long ago.

**Hi Joey, please tell Yugi not to fill up on Pizza, as I am making burgers for dinner. Please tell him to be home before 7. Thanks, Grandpa Motou**

Joey's frown deepened.