It's been a while but I really felt like writing something and ended up with this Joey/Malik fic. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

Warnings: ...It ain't Shakespeare... seriously, it's simple writing. Oh, and does using dub names count as a warning?

There was definitely something off about that Namu kid. Joey couldn't quite grasp what it was—there was a dense fog in the back of his mind that he couldn't penetrate but he just knew if he could, it would reveal Namu—what Namu was, what he was doing, and why Joey was so damned unsettled by him.

Joey was having considerable difficulty voicing his concern; although he was usually the loud, opinionated type, his suspicions were never able to reach his tongue this time, especially since Namu was all smiles and friendliness and freaking sunshine. No one else seemed to have a problem with him, so if he said anything, everyone would give him that look, that look of affectionate disapproval, and wave his words away like they were of no consequence. Maybe Yugi would—nah… even Yugi would probably just smile and say he was being paranoid.

'I'll just keep an eye on him,' Joey thought, watching Namu laugh at something Téa said. The lights in Kaiba's massive stadium were enough to create a sort of faux daytime, and they glared harshly off Namu's jewelry—who wore that much gold, anyway?—making him a bit difficult to look at. 'He's gotta be filthy rich,' Jou thought, not without a bitter note.

"Joey! C'mon, we're boarding!" Tristan yelled, already halfway up the platform to the blimp. Joey shook his head as if physically trying to shake off his thoughts before boarding. Téa, Yugi and Namu filed in after him, laughing about god-knows-what.

-oOo-

Alright, so now Joey was just plain irritated, and it wasn't just because of his nerves about his upcoming duels. Everything around him was just. So. Irritating! Duke and Tristan were hitting on his sister (in the most annoying and flamboyant manner possible; he may have to kick at least one of their asses) and Kaiba was being himself (a snooty, rich punk with an ego more inflated than his stupid blimp) and just what the hell was Namu doing with that glass of water?

Namu and that glass… It really shouldn't have been as distracting as it was. Namu was sitting off by himself, one slim, bronzed finger tracing patterns on the condensation forming on a glass of water. His posture was a bit slouched, eyes heavily lidded, the picture of boredom as he proceeded to stick his finger into the water, swirling the ice cubes around—was he really going to drink that now?—the ice lightly clinking against the edges, creating soft musical notes… and then that same stupid finger started tracing the edge of the… Wasn't he going to drink it? Raise it to his lips and take a long, refreshing… Did he play with all his food…?

"Joey? Hon, you okay?" he heard Mai ask, her voice drifting up from somewhere, amazingly able to break through Joey's clouded mind. He then realized he had been staring, eyes narrowed, at Namu's glass as if it had personally offended him. He blinked, startled, and whipped around to offer Mai a nervous smile.

"Oh—I—yeah! I'm fine, I just…uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a large breath and letting his entire posture slump as if he were deflating. He knew at this point his face must be sporting a tell-tale blush. "I guess I'm just…um?" He groaned inwardly at himself.

Mai blinked before laughing, patting Joey on the arm. "Sure, okay hon, you were just spacing out a bit, that's all." She gave him an odd look before—thankfully!—turning back to her conversation with Téa.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. He really shouldn't be zoning out like that, and staring intensely at the kid wasn't going to do anything other than putting him in a lot of awkward situations. Yeah. He really should be focusing, especially when he had to watch—wait. Where the hell did he go?

Namu's perch by the by the bar was abandoned, as was the still half-full glass of water, glistening with ice. Stupid water, distracting him for so long. He must be thirsty.

He made his way over to the door (dragging Duke away from Serenity and shoving him against a wall in the process) and glanced down the hall, seeing Namu's retreating form.

"Hey, Namu! Wait up!"

Namu paused on his journey towards the elevator, turning around to offer Joey an annoyingly cute smile.

Joey's first instinct was to scrunch up his nose in distaste, but he wrestled his features into a friendly grin, and jogged up to Namu. "Um, I just, uh—where're you goin'?"

Namu looked up at him, his eyes scrunching closed as his smile widened, "Oh, just to my room. All this excitement has tired me out." He opened his eyes—they shone eerily in the fluorescent lighting, looking oddly hard—as if they were actual amethysts.

Joey's own eyes narrowed a bit but his smile didn't waver (he mentally congratulated himself for that). "Yeah…okay. Um…" He really needed a reason for following him out here, but for some reason his mind thought this was the opportune moment to stop functioning properly. "The others were wondering…if you'd like to eat dinner with them first?" Joey mentally berated himself when he couldn't help but make his statement come out like a nervous question.

Namu rubbed the back of his head, looking a bit tense "Well, I am a bit tired, but…" He looked down at his feet for a moment. If he said no, Joey decided he would definitely follow him—who knew what he'd do besides sleeping and no, he was definitely not being paranoid.

Namu surprised him by looking up at him from underneath his eyelashes—and whoa, what was that look for?—before nervously replying with a, "Of course I'll eat with you guys. You're very kind to invite me."

Joey felt his cheeks burn (for some reason) and a million butterflies fluttered to life in his stomach. He laughed uneasily, stumbling backwards a little. "Don't mention it, eh?" He knew he was grinning like a fool, but he honestly seemed to have lost control of his facial functions. "C'mon."

As quickly Joey walked, Namu would keep right up with him, so close to him that it was rather unnerving. 'If he's trying to knife me in the back…' But that was ridiculous, wasn't it? He was sure Yugi would be disappointed in him for having such horrible thoughts about a person who had been nothing but pleasant to them and—dear god, did he have to stand so close?

And dinner…well, that was just awful. It turned out Namu really did enjoy playing with his food, and when the food did manage to make it past his lips—seriously, who ate like that? He was messy—a trail of soy sauce slowly rolled down his chin—but cleanly about it—Namu cleaned the trail with a finger, which he then brought to his mouth…

It really shouldn't have been as distracting as it was.

"What's up with that white-haired guy?" Mokuba asked quietly, nudging Joey's arm. "It's like he's…murdering that steak."

"Well, he's dueling Yuug, tomorrow, probably trying to…you know…build strength," Joey replied distractedly, eyes still on Namu.

Mokuba eyed him skeptically, eyebrows furrowed and worriedly glanced at Ryou again, who had moved on to the chicken breast. Everyone else, besides Joey and Namu, was also looking at Ryou, faces portraying an equal mixture of awe and horror.

Joey, however, was busy noticing Namu's preference for vegetarian dishes. Herbivores didn't seem particularly threatening. However, one shouldn't let such things deceive them—after all, that little girl with the teddy bear had also seemed pretty unimposing and look what happened with that.

Eventually, the novelty of watching Ryou destroy his meal wore off and the room dissolved into various little conversations. Joey thought he'd initiate his own. He lightly kicked Namu's shin to get his attention. "So, Namu, you excited about watching tomorrow's duel?"

Namu allowed his attention to stray from his meal for a moment to give Joey a brilliant smile. "Oh, yes! I can't wait to see these two amazing duelists in action. Are you excited?" He leaned forward a bit, earrings swaying, delicately clinking against his chokers. He actually looked earnest—like a kid—waiting for Joey's answer.

"Y-Yeah, of course," Joey said, waving a hand. That unsettling feeling was back, like a lump of ice sitting at the bottom of his stomach. "I can't wait to see Yuug win. Don't get me wrong, Ryou's great and all, a great guy, too, but Yugi…" He trailed off, thinking, eyes flitting towards nothing in particular. "I'm kinda worried about my own duel, though. I'm really not nearly as amazing as Yu—"

Namu's face instantly dissolved into worry, and he leaned forward even further, catching one of Joey's hands in both of his (Joey's blush was back in full-force and his eyebrows disappeared somewhere into his hair). This was unexpected.

"No, don't say that!" Namu said emphatically. "If you've made it this far, you are an excellent duelist and should not be so unsure of yourself. I'm sure you'll be a worthy competitor for Malik."

Joey eyed their interlocked hands and then glanced up at Namu's face; his eyebrows were tilted up and a soft smile graced his lips. 'Eh…maybe he's not so bad…' Joey offered Namu his own smile and was so warmed by Namu's small compliment that the that the slightly arrogant tone at the utterance of the name "Malik" went wholly unnoticed, hanging in the air between them before disappearing altogether, along with a sigh of relief from Namu.

-oOo-

Joey must have said something—a joke, no doubt, that's what he was in his group, the joker (the fool?)—because Namu burst out laughing (that laugh—it was glorious). He laughed so hard, he fell off his chair, landing on the floor with a distinct thud.

"…Ow." He heard Namu say as his laughter became giggles before completely dying off.

Joey rushed over to him, "Hey, you okay?"

Namu peered up at him through his bangs. Black eyelashes surrounded by kohl really drew attention to his eyes, which weren't like stones anymore, they were soft and welcoming. "Oh, yes, it wasn't that hard of a fall. I could use a hand up, though." He smiled sweetly.

"Oh, uh, sure." He moved toward the fallen duelist, extending a hand. Namu grasped it (god, his hand was soft) but instead of lifting himself up, he roughly pulled Joey down on top of him.

"What the—Namu, I—"

The jumbled, confused stream of words that was about to come out of Joey died on his lips. Namu wrapped his arms around Jou's neck, that sickly sweet smile still on his face, and let those terrible, distracting fingers play with the sparse hair on Jou's neck. "Joey, I really do admire you. I meant what I said…" He leaned up, moist breath ghosting over Joey's lips. "I think you're a fantastic duelist." He arched his back, letting their waists touch.

Joey's mouth worked, but no noise escaped. He was blushing fiercely, eyes wide and he suddenly felt much too hot. A familiar tingling was working its way to his thighs and then downwards and he just felt this need to move, harshly, to thrust down onto Namu, to crush their lips together, to—

—Oh god. This was just too weird. He didn't move, arms tense, Namu trapped between his arms and legs.

Namu, likely noticing Joey had frozen, began to slowly rotate his hips, innocent smile still painted on full lips, hair fanned around his head and face, eyes still soft.

At his movement, Joey's body was finally shocked out of his paralysis and he reflexively bucked into Namu. "Ohmygodholyshit—Namu—"

Namu's face was now faintly flushed, eyes lidded and he was emitting his own pleased pants moans grunts. He began speaking again, his words released on gasping breaths. "And you're…ahh—not a mutt; you're brave and kind and—ah—an amazing duelist." He stroked Joey's wide-eyed face with the back of his hand. "You could easily defeat Malik… You'll be the hero…"

Namu continued to breathe praise into Joey's ears, hands finding their way into short, blonde hair and hot, wet breath rolling over the side of his face. Joey couldn't move again, couldn't even speak because Namu's body was so warm, so plaint and when the boy under him gently arched his back—

Holy shit!

Joey fell off the couch, head colliding (rather painfully) with the floor. Whoa—that dream—that just came out of nowhere, just—

Whoa. Just, whoa.

He glanced towards the bed, where Duke and Tristan were still snoring obnoxiously and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He couldn't believe what his brain was trying to do to him. Just—what—what the hell was that? A weird kid says some nice things, smiles at him and suddenly he's having these dreams.

He needs a glass of water. With no ice, 'cause that'll just remind him of—god damn it! He really shouldn't be thinking about this! He should be focusing on the tournament, should be preparing! He ran a hand through his wild hair before forcing himself off the floor. A glass of water. Yeah. He'll cool himself down, calm himself and then go right back to sleep, hopefully not having any more dreams.

He left his room, squeezing his eyes against the overbearing light of the hallway before unsteadily making his way to the kitchen.

The kitchen was dark (and his eyes rejoiced) but he was still able to make out Namu, sitting on a chair facing a window, moonlight casting him in an ethereal glow that picked out his edges.

Damn. Crap. Shit. Why.

Namu was frowning, eyebrows tilted downwards like he was glaring at the outside world. But maybe Joey was seeing things weirdly because of the limited light… or maybe Joey's earlier suspicions had been correct—that there was something wrong with Namu, that he was hiding something, that he was a little…off.

Namu made to get up, when his head turned and eyes spotted Joey, still standing unsurely in the entrance. His features immediately softened and a smile stretched his lips. Joey was silently pleased he was able to evoke such a reaction—to draw Namu out of whatever was troubling him and make him smile. In the presence of this smiling Namu, the memory of the glaring one evaporated. Smiling like he did when he called him a great duelist, smiling like he did in his dream…

"Oh, hello, Joey! What are you doing up so late?"

"I could ask ya the same thing," Joey said, walking over to the sink.

Namu shrugged, ducking his head a little, as if embarrassed. "Oh, I just…couldn't sleep. I'm nervous, I suppose. And a little…"

Joey filled a glass, waiting for Namu to finish. When the pause continued to stretch out, hanging tensely between them, Joey asked, "A little what?"

Even in the moonlight, Joey was able to make out that Namu was blushing. "Well, with us sharing the same blimp as that…Malik…I'm just a little… scared." He gulped, looking away.

Joey's glass paused on the way to his mouth. "Oh! Uh—well—"

Namu wringed his hands. "I know. I'm being silly. But, it's just that—Malik is really powerful, yes? And no doubt smart… and evil since you all hate him so much. I mean…what if—"

Joey put down the glass, thirst forgotten, and made his way over to Namu. He hesitated for a second before placing his hands over Namu's shoulders, squeezing comfortingly. "Don't worry about it—there's no way Malik will win! He'll never beat Yugi. You're totally safe!"

Namu turned to look at him, eyes hard, boring into Joey. "You seem awfully sure of that," he said softly.

"I am sure," Joey said. "Don't worry, 'kay?" Joey leaned back a little. Something in Namu's eyes was unsettling him, that eerie feeling was back.

Namu worried his lip (Joey stared) before smiling again. Before Joey could blink, Namu had his arms wrapped around him and sighed contentedly. "Thanks, Joey. I'm sure you'll be the one to defeat him."

All of Joey's thoughts immediately left him, his skin became hypersensitive, taking in the feeling of Namu's soft, warm weight against him.

"Y-You're welcome…" He didn't know what to really say about Namu putting so much faith in him. "Well…people like Malik are—are scum."

He feels Namu smile against his shoulder. "Scum," Namu echoed.

"Yeah," Joey said, hand wandering to Namu's hair on its own accord. "You shouldn't waste your time worrying about him. He's pathetic—soulless, insane."

"Insane," Namu said, arms tightening around Joey. Joey felt his stomach knot, a strange, irrational voice in his mind telling him to back away now-but the voice was quelled when Namu spoke again, in a whisper. "You're so right, Joey. I…" His voice hitched at the end, and he tilted his head slightly, lips brushing against Joey's jaw.

Joey's mind spun—holy crap was his dream more of a premonition?—and he desperately tried to stifle a moan. His hand gently brushed Namu's hair out of his eyes, moving to look into his eyes. "Namu, what are you—?"

"I really respect you, Joey," Namu breathed. "I…I like you…" He moved onto his tip-toes, leaning further into Joey, leaving no space between them. He touched their noses together, giving Joey an Eskimo kiss.

'Well, that's enough of that,' Joey thought, gripping Namu tightly by the waist, leaning down to catch Namu's lips. Namu hummed against him; his armbands were cool against Joey's heated skin. Joey sucked on Namu's lips, crushed their hips together.

"Ah…ah…Joey…!" He panted, arms tightening in a stranglehold. "We can—hn—go to my room…?"

No way was Joey about to protest this, and let Namu guide him to his room, both of them still entwined, stumbling awkwardly. Namu's back hit his room's door, causing it to swing open. Joey wasted no time in toppling them onto the bed.

Moving over him, he bent down to leave butterfly kisses on Namu's neck—he seemed like the kind of guy to like that sort of thing, right?—when he noticed Namu's gaze was focused somewhere over his shoulder, brows furrowed, body tensing.

"…Namu…? You okay?"

Namu's eyes widened, still looking at the ceiling. "Oh…I just…um…"

Joey eyed him shrewdly for a moment, not moving. Namu's breath was leaving him in shaky exhales.

Why was—oh.

Oh.

Joey tilted his head to the side, not really sure what to make of his sudden realization. Really? No one who dressed like that could possibly still be… could they?

"Namu…are—are you a virgin?"

Namu's head snapped back to look at Joey, mouth agape, expression clearly one of disbelief. His left eye twitched slightly.

Well, that was a strange way of expressing embarrassment. "Hey, it's okay, you know? I'll go slow, yeah?" He cupped Namu's face, thumbs tracing the kohl patterns around his eyes. He leaned down to kiss him again, and Namu gradually loosened, pushing back against Joey, which had to be a good sign, even if his eyes remained open.

Afterwards, Namu snuggled into Joey, who had an arm flung across the dark body. Namu traced patterns against Joey's neck, finger moving back and forth against Joey's throat. He tilted his head up to smile at Joey and for a moment—a split blink-and-you-miss-it second—the shadows played tricks, hardening Namu's eyes into stone and eating at his smile, making it look more like a gentle smirk.

But the image fled as quickly as it came and Namu sighed contentedly, pecking Joey's cheek and closing his eyes.

Joey stared at him for a few long moments, hearing his breathing level out and watching the rythmic movement of his chest. He frowned thoughtfully.

So maybe Joey was wrong about this one little thing this one time. With his hand carding through Namu's soft, flaxen hair, and taking in his serene expression, he couldn't help but conclude that Namu really was an okay guy.

:)?