Raspberries & Crème

By Pearl of the Dark Age

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Author's Note: It's been fun, guys! Thank you all for reading! A huge thank you for all who have left a review! You guys rock! (Glomps LeDiva) Thank you so much for leaving a review every chapter! That always brightened my day! (Yes, I'm a sap.)

Oh, and Varon did get his bike back from the shop.

Chapter 10

Amelda returned home late the next morning. He noticed that the yellow motorcycle was still in the drive, which meant that Varon was still home. He sighed, trying to relieve some of the anxiety he withheld. He told Seto his plan this morning, who had not approved of Amelda's method at first. The redhead walked through the front door to come face to face with a glowering Aussie.

Varon's arms were folded huffily across his chest, and his eyes were wet and pink. He had been crying. He would never admit it, but Amelda knew him well enough to know and to not say so. Amelda stood in the doorway, and they just stared at each other. Knowing that the silence would soon be broken by earsplitting yells in a matter of seconds, Amelda acted quickly. He grabbed the back of Varon's head and pulled him close, kissing him roughly. If Varon's mouth had not opened at just the right time, the redhead would never have been able to get his tongue in.

The brunette went completely limp. His arms dropped to the side, and Amelda was beginning to think he had made a mistake. But he had not. A moment later Varon pushed himself out of Amelda's reach. He stared wide-eyed in alarm at his roommate, breathing a little heavier than normal. "That was a great kiss, mate!" he exclaimed. "But I don't think that's what I wanted."

"Then why the hell have you been acting like a jealous boyfriend?" Amelda snapped. He had intended to be a little softer but his temper got the better of him.

"I just don't want to be left all by myself!" he replied heatedly. "Raphael moved out. Now he hardly ever visits! Damn that guy! I miss him! And I know I'm going to miss you, too!" He sniffed back the oncoming tears in an attempt to be more manly.

Amelda melted like butter. He smiled and gave Varon a big hug. "You can't get rid of me that easily!" He let Varon go, gazing into the baby-blues.

"I don't think you understand, mate," Varon said softly. "Who will feed me? I can't cook to save my life! And who will play video games with me? And who will I have to rib if you move out? Good on you that you've found love and all, mate. I'm really selfish, you know. I know you're going to leave me, and I don't want you to go."

"Well, I'm not moving out right away," Amelda replied softly. "And I think it's time you seriously consider being more serious with at least one of those skirts that you chase around. How many are you with now?"

"Uh… three, I think."

"Pick the one most likely to commit and not drive you crazy after a while," Amelda suggested. "And stick with her. Furthermore, when did you find out I was gay? All this time I thought you didn't know. Raphael is going to be in shock when I tell him."

"I'm not that oblivious! I guess I've always known; how could I not? I just didn't care one way or the other. You are you, and I am me," Varon explained in his own logic. "I don't change myself or the way I act for anyone!"

"Except for Mai."

"Well… she was soft on the eyes, hard on the heart," Varon said sheepishly, blushing slightly. He moved again out of Amelda's reach, rubbing the back of his neck gingerly. "I'm really sorry, mate, for everything," he apologized - not looking at his roommate, but the floor.

"I forgive you, Varon," Amelda said kindly. "You gave me quite a scare! I didn't want to hurt you." He brightened, thinking of a way to cheer his roommate up. "Varon, there is another party that Seto's throwing. He told me about it this morning."

"A party for what? And I'm invited?" Varon asked skeptically. "How did you convince him to do that?"

"I didn't. It was his idea," Amelda informed, suddenly realizing that perhaps Seto was up to something, again. "It's to celebrate the opening of a new Kaibaland in Hong Kong. Duelist and other respectable people from China will be there."

"Do I have to wear I tie?"

"Well, considering that Seto told me to, I should think so."

"You're not going to, are you?" Varon asked rhetorically, meeting silver eyes and grinning.

"Not a chance!"

Later that week at the party…

Varon wore the same traditional black and white tux he had worn to Raphael's wedding, complete with bow tie. He looked quite handsome; but there was nothing that could be done about his hair. Amelda had opted for a more formal attire this time, but he adamantly refused to wear a tie. He wore a charcoal grey suit with a taupe shirt underneath. In place of a tie, he had pinned a large cameo in the top button hole, and that was it. Seto was impressed nonetheless. It was probably the most he could get out of the redhead until the wedding.

The two Doom bikers found themselves hanging together after awhile, feeling like fish out of water. Seto had gone off to greet the important guest and to make a few speeches. Varon had tried his luck with several of the pretty ladies in attendance, but his Chinese was even worse than his Japanese. So, he hung back, keeping the lonely redhead company, and getting drunk on wine.

The two were feeling pretty complacent until Varon noticed the hackles raised on his friend. "What is it mate?" Varon inquired. Amelda hissed angrily, glaring silver daggers in a fixed direction. Varon's eyes followed the line of sight, coming to Seto Kaiba, who had a vivacious Chinese lady hanging all over him. Seto looked as if he had given up trying to shove her off himself.

Amelda started walking over, but Varon reached out and stopped him. "Let me handle this!" he suggested, smirking. Amelda knew that smile, and he trusted Varon. So the Aussie sauntered off, and as he approached he started to strut. "Hello there, Kaiba!" he greeted. Vivian stopped gushing for a moment to look at him. "I see you got your hands full. Why don't you introduce me to this beautiful flower?"

Seto was stunned. His mind reeled with excitement of getting rid of Vivian. "Varon, this is Vivian Wong," Seto introduced formally. "She's the Duel Monster's Champion of China. Vivian, this is Varon. He is best friends with Amelda."

She suddenly seemed a little more interested in Varon. "Amelda? You mean that foreigner who beat you?" she asked Seto.

"You don't need to remind me," Seto muttered under his breath.

Vivian looked at Varon. "Are you as good as Amelda?" she asked impatiently. "I have high standards, after all. I don't associate myself with losers!"

Varon flashed her his most egotistical smile. "Ma'am, I am the best!" he stated confidently. "Just you duel me; you'll see! Let's take this out back, shall we?"

Vivian's sparkling brown eyes gleamed. "You'll regret challenging me!" And she released Seto and followed the grinning Aussie out of sight.

The CEO breathed a sigh of relief. He had invited Varon for that very reason. He glanced around the room, hoping that Amelda had not seen the whole thing. When his eyes found the redhead, the look upon his face told Seto that he had. He walked over to his lover. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he said. "I couldn't even get her off with a crowbar. She was all over Yugi at KC Grand Prix, so I was lucky then."

Amelda muttered something inaudible.

"What?"

"Forget it, Seto," he said, louder this time. "Just make it up to me tonight!" He winked.

Three days later…

"So, you finally decided to return home?" Amelda asked as the Aussie stepped through the front door.

Varon grinned broadly. "Aww… don't tell me you were worried about me!" he laughed. "You know how these things go."

Amelda snarled and made dire threats. "I would hope that you would be more serious!" he lectured. "After everything you put me through!"

"Yeah, about that…" Varon said slowly. "I hate to do this to you, mate, but I'm moving out."

"What?" Amelda exploded. "You are leaving? You mean it will just be me, now?"

"Yup!" Varon replied happily. "I really like that Vivian! She's a little fireball, and she's a great cook! It's love, mate! Love!"

Amelda laughed in spite of himself. "What about me?"

"Doesn't Kaiba have enough space to spare in that large mansion of his?" Varon suggested playfully. "You could move in with him. We could sell the house and split the money between us."

"Three ways, you mean," Amelda reminded him. "Raphael had paid his share, too, when we bought it."

"Oh, yeah," Varon murmured. "I guess so. He needs it, doesn't he?" He looked at his roommate. "Ready to start packing?"

"What? Now?"

"Sure, why not? I'll help you move if you help me," Varon replied. "Go call your boyfriend, mate."

"Nyah," Amelda replied. "It'll be funnier if I just show up!"

The End

Please leave a review! Thank you! And a thank you to those who put me on their Story Alert. I guess this means that it won't be necessary anymore. Please switch me over to Author Alert, (it will be more for your convenience than anything) since I do have another warshipping fic coming by the end of June 2006 (or so). It's called Mokuba's Plan. I have two more fics after that! I have ideas for 19 more, so it isn't like I'm going to stop writing! THANK YOU!