warnings: Uh, bachelor party?

2. Spirits, Unstoppered

Well, at least there weren't going to be that many people to invite to the stag party at least. Jack really didn't collect a lot of friends, after all. It was going to be Yusei, Crow, Kiryu, and Kazama. A few others had gotten wind of the nuptials and dropped a line, but they weren't quite close enough with Jack for this party. He was a little sad to turn down Harald and his team, for example, and Jaeger was almost crushed. On the other hand, Yusei took a little perverse satisfaction in letting Ushio know that he could make other plans. "Uh, sorry, Ushio," he'd said. "We're planning on a small party, you see, only Jack's closest friends. I know you understand."

Ushio had scowled at him red-faced, gratifying Yusei that he'd been able to tell him in person.

"To Jack!" Kiryu shouted happily, raising his glass. "I never would have guessed that you'd have been the first in Team Satisfaction to get married … Huh. In fact, I would have pegged you the odds-on favorite to be the last."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" growled Jack.

"C'mon, you're the one who was dialed in with laser-beam guidance on your goals, Jack, so don't take offense," groused Crow.

So much for Crow guiding the conversation to lighter topics …

"And how quickly did I achieve those goals?" asked Jack, taking a sip. "Huh?"

"Pretty damn quick," confirmed Yusei. "He didn't lose a match on his way to the top of the league. No one's going to beat that record."

Jack said nothing; he simply shrugged arrogantly.

"Oh, all right. Fine. You accomplished what you set out to do. You want a medal?"

"No, I already won the award, thanks, Crow."

"Pft!"

"C'mon, you two, can you stop arguing just this once? Crow, we're supposed to be celebrating Jack's happiness. Jack, you should be concentrating on your happiness … right? Everyone?"

"Right …" the two said.

"Uh, so tell me more about Carly," said Kiryu. "When I knew her, she was … well, not exactly herself."

Jack gave him an odd look as Yusei remembered that Kiryu only knew Carly as a Dark Signer. Awkward. He wished that he'd thought of that when he'd made the invitations so that he could have asked Kiryu specifically not to mention that!

"Uh, Kiryu—" he began.

But Jack said, "It's all right, Yusei. She's very nice, really. I'm sure you know why she became a Dark Signer—"

"Because she was looking into Divine because she was afraid of losing her connection with you and died as a result—" offered Kiryu.

"Uh, well, yes, so …"

You feel responsible, Yusei thought sadly. He took a swallow of beer. This wasn't the merry occasion that he'd pictured. Kaz was in the corner looking confused and upset. He was the only person here who wasn't a member of Team Satisfaction and had no idea what he had stepped into.

"Uh, Kaz, want to take a walk?"

"No, it's OK." He plastered a fake smile on his face. "I want to be here for Jack."

"Thanks Kaz," Jack said, then scowled. "Carly helped me get through some of the hardest days of my life, when no one else was there for me. End of story." He lifted his glass and took a long, emphatic draught, then slammed it down, nearly empty. "Now let's be happy and have fun, goddam it!"

"Let's," agreed Yusei. "After all, we saved the world together, didn't we? We made Satellite a better place, didn't we?"

Team Satisfaction said "Hear, hear!" and they all lifted their glasses to that and began reminiscing happily for a while.

"That last duel before you joined Duel Ace, Jack, that was awesome," said Yusei.

"Sure was," said Crow.

"I wish I had seen it!" said Kazama.

"Yeah," said Crow. "The duel was magnificent. … After he walked out on us for weeks without a word of explanation."

"Crow …" Yusei said, warningly.

"He never thinks. He just does what he wants—"

"What the hell are you talking about now, Crow?" Jack said, taking a drink and glowering at him.

"You know it Jack," said Crow, "you have this way of just taking what you want without thinking about how anyone else feels or how it affects anyone—"

"You're not talking about my getting married, are you—?"

"Nah—but … Jack—!"

"Dammit, Crow, if you're talking about my coffee tab again, so help me—! I've already paid you back for that a long time ago with interest, mind you—"

"Nah—well yes but—not specifically, Jack, I'm talking just in general now—"

"In general? You're making no sense. Maybe you shouldn't be drinking so much."

"This has nothin' to do with my drinking—"

"Then be specific."

"You should talk to people now and then."

"Huh?"

"Why did we know nothin' about this wedding until you tol' Yusei it was about to happen?"

"Is that all this is about? Seriously?" Jack sighed heavily. "Damn it, Crow, I thought you were pissed about something important."

"You're really an insensitive bastard, you know that?"

"Fine thing to say to a man during his stag party."

"It's true, though. I-I mean, jus' look aroun' you. Your bes' friends have to keep up with you—"

"Wait a minute, Crow, Jack's got a demanding schedule. You think he can just drop out of a tournament on a whim just to come see us?" reasoned Yusei.

"Nah—If he really cared, he'd find a way. Don't tell me you're not busy and you find the time. I find time. Just Mr Globe Trot, here, he's too busy."

"Come on, Crow, let me—" began Kiryu soothingly.

"Yeah, like you're the voice of reason—!" Crow warned irritably.

Jack stood. "This isn't going anywhere and I'm not having a good time anymore."

"Jack—" Kaz said pleadingly. "C'mon, man, we want you to stay."

"No, I'm tired." He walked out, angry and frustrated. No matter what he did, Crow was just never going to relent. He snorted. Was this Crow's revenge for the fact that he always beat him?

"C'mon to my room," said a familiar voice behind him.

"I'm tired and I've already had too much. Why else would I waste my time arguing with fowl?"

Yusei chuckled. "Jack, please. I really wanted to spend a little time with you and Crow's all but messed that up. We haven't had a chance to really talk since you told me you were getting married."

"What would you—"

The elevator interrupted him and the two boarded. "Yeah," said Yusei. "I want to talk about some stuff and who knows when we'll get the chance now that you're getting married?"

"Stuff? Like what?"

What? What did he want to talk about, anyway? There seemed to be a compelling need to talk to Jack, a sense that he was running out of time, but he had no idea what he was going to say.

"Jack, do I really have to give you the agenda? You're my best friend and things aren't going to be the same. I'm happy for you, but let's face it. From now on, I have to take the fact that you have a wife into account."

"Wife …" a sleepy half-smile wistfully crossed Jack's face and for a moment Yusei felt a strange admixture of admiration and guilt.

The elevator doors opened. "OK? Wanta come and have a nightcap? Don't go to bed all frustrated with Crow."

Jack's expression turned thoughtful. "There is that. I don't wanna be mad at him all night …"

"That's right." He walked the few steps to his room and unlocked the door. "You know, it's gonna be weird having you part of a couple."

"We can do things together, just invite Aki along."

Aki? Despite the fact that they both dueled and they were both Signers, she and Jack seemed to have virtually nothing in common.

Yusei pulled a beer out of the fridge and handed it to Jack, taking one for himself.

"I'm just saying I'm not used to seeing you paired up with somebody. I'm used to seeing you followed by a cloud of girls."

Jack chuckled. "Was it really that bad?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe it's a good thing I'm getting married."

"It wasn't so bad. It was kind of … funny. Well, it was a little sad because I always thought none of them had a chance." He took a sip of his beer, then added, "Guess you proved me wrong, though."

"Yeah … but why would you think that?"

"Think what?"

"That none of them stood a chance?"

"Well, you never really paid them any attention."

"Yusei, did you think I have no interest in sex? It was all about priority, man! I had to concentrate all my power and effort on becoming King! Women want all your attention—don't you know that? Or is Aki that reasonable?"

"I didn't think you had no interest in sex …" said Yusei.

Jack looked at him, confused. "Weren't we talking about Aki?"

"I want to talk about you." … and your interest in sex …

Yusei leaned in a little closer to Jack. He was really starting to feel the alcohol. Part of his mind was desperately screaming, Stop talking! but that part of his mind was fading into an incomprehensible buzz. "We were talking about you, weren't we?" … and that is your favorite subject, after all …

"Uh, I guess."

"You had all those opportunities, and never took advantage of any?"

"I … uh, Yusei … what are … ?"

Jack's face was so close now.

"Your eyes … has anyone ever told you how unique and beautiful they are?"

"Unh … Yusei … ?"

Author's notes ...

Thanks ever so much for the wonderful reception (no pun intended!) for my new story! The reviews, fav's and follows are greatly appreciated and highly motivating! Yes, the premise for this story is a wedding between Jack and Carly, but you'll notice that the summary says it's a Jack/Yusei story, and that's the focus. Hopefully even if you dislike Carly you won't be disappointed. I'm hoping that if you like Carly you won't be too horribly disappointed either (even if you aren't thrilled ;) ). You're probably right, there will be some drama/angst ... I can't seem to stay away from that completely. But, hey, you can't bake a good cake without a little spice, right?

Someone once noticed that a lot of my 5D's stories seem to feature a drinking incident and obviously this is no exception! Sorry about that. Honestly, most of the time it wasn't planned out ahead of time, it just turned out that way. Here, it was in fact planned and you'll see how it turns out.

Notes:

Kiryu only knew Carly as a Dark Signer: Kiryu's perspective on Carly is quite different from that of the others. It might be interesting to explore that more, but that's not what this story is about.

[Aki] and Jack seemed to have virtually nothing in common: My take on the anime is that this seems to be the case. Jack is forced into connection/empathy with Akiza through the Sign, but he really doesn't want to get to know her well and goes to great lengths to get Yusei to help her in his place. I have my theories about that ...

Preview?

Hm ... it's so short, but trust me, it can be summed up in two words: Oh. God.