Hey! I've been trying to think of another angst fic to write for a while and this one finally popped into my head- ever since I started reading Yu-gi-oh fanfic I noticed that the most popular couples were yaoi couples and Yami/Yugi and Tea- I have nothing against those- in fact Yugi/Yami/Seto is one of my favs lol- but I decided to try out a less-used couple- Yami/Mai. I know a lot of you may think they have nothing alike but I'm going to try my best to make them seem right for eachother and justify the way Mai acts lol- in this fic she's definately going to be less materialistic. But the angst comes in w/ Joey- he's gonna be the third wheel:-P sorry Joey, who just happens to like Mai as well-I hope u enjoy- please R&R!! No flames-I'm just trying this out to see how it does:-)

Disclaimer: The day pigs fly is the day I own Yu-gi-oh.
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"I play Harpy Lady in defense mode." Her taunting tone was edged with a hint of smugness. "Your move."

Mai sat back slighty in her chair, eyeing her opponant with keen eyes of purple. She studied her opponants emotionless face and crimson eyes. Yami sat across from her, looking through his hand, calculating unknown schemes in his mind. That intelliagent mind. Mai smiled inwardly. Even when the duel was not official, he took it seriously. She liked that.

Yami was busy contemplating his next move when he heard Joey whisper to Yugi who sat beside him. Yugi smiled and nodded. 'Mental note,' thought Yami, 'ask what's so funny.' Right now he had to keep focused. His arrogant opponant grinned when he glanced up. His plan was complete.

"I play this card face down, and I'll play Curse of Dragon in attack. I think that's the end of your Harpy Lady."

Mai sighed. "Is it?" Flipping over the trap she had laid down, she smirked. Mirror Wall. Yami copied her sigh. This duel would last longer than he thought.
***
Yugi was skimming through a new manga that he had fetched from his room, and had his legs propped up on the counter. The duel still wasn't over between his dark and the blonde which sat opposite him. They had been playing for a good thirty or forty minutes in the Game Shop. The shop was still open, but it was dark outside and less and less people were strolling by the windows. No more little kids peering in and pointing with unrestrained excitment. It was now quiet as Yami gazed down at his hand. Yugi would look up occasionally from the manga to watch the two, since he had a good view of both hands. The desire to tell the two duelists what the other had was very great but he kept his silence and continued reading. It took another minute before the silence was broken.Yami slapped a card on the table. "There."

Mai looked down at the card and shrugged. "Alright, you win."

Yami stood and stretched. His muscles ached from sitting so long and it was a relief to stand again. Mai stood as well and gathered up her cards.

"Wait!" Joey was staring at the remaining cards with rapt attention. "Yami, how did you beat her? I don't understand..."

"Joey, even if he told you you wouldn't understand," Yugi wise-cracked from the counter.

Joey smiled. It was probably the truth. Mai slid her deck into her purse and turned to leave, touching the top of Yugi's manga to make him look up. He waved and wished her goodnight. She came by regularly now, always to duel Yami. Yugi didn't mind, he liked seeing duels even if they weren't computer simulated, but the fact that Yami always beat her made him wonder why she always came back for more. And whenever Mai came, Joey came. It was a known fact between Yami and Yugi that Joey had the hots for Mai. He had openly admitted it to Yugi outside the game shop one morning while they waited for her to arrive. But neither knew the true extent of Joey's "crush" on the blonde. That was something they hadn't yet seen.

Joey watched her leave, watched her wave to Yami in turn and comment on how she would beat him next time, watched her flip her hair over her shoulders like she always did, watched her walk gracefully out of the shop. He felt a slight pang of sadness at the fact that she hadn't said goodbye to him, but then realized that she had stopped and was peering with an amused expression through the glass. 'Is she looking at ME?' thought Joey, slightly blushing. Mai peeked her head back into the doorway.

"What, Joey, did you honestly think I was going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"Haha, no?" Joey's heartbeat raced. A mere joke, a mere sentence from her made him tingle.

"Well, goodbye, I'll probably see you tomorrow." Mai winked at him and he felt the blood run into his face. Smiling like an idiot he waved and then glanced at the ground to hide his embarrasment. 'If only I could tell her how I feel...'

Yami followed Mai with his crimson eyes around the corner of the gameshop and then flicked them back to the two boys who remained. He had a small smile on his face that only Yugi noticed, peeking over the top of the comic. Yami saw him, and moving around the counter he pulled the manga from Yugi and hit him off the head with it.

"Time to close up. Joey, are you staying for the night? You can if you want, even if Yugi's grandfather is away, right Yugi?"

"Of course!" Yugi pulled his legs off the counter and hopped off the stool he was sitting on. Taking down the "open" sign he turned to face Joey.

"Well?"

Joey was still deep in thought, looking at the ground.

"Well??? Joey?"

The blonde looked up, dazed. "Sorry, I was thinking about that play," he lied.

Yami laughed from behind Joey, making him jump.

"It wasn't that special."

Joey chuckled, half-heartedly. 'If I could play a move like that, Mai would actually be surprised...whereas when YAMI here makes it...'

Yugi patiently nudged him. "You ok?"

"Fine!" Joey stood up and rubbed the nape of his neck. "I'm gonna go home, I think. I'm a little tired, but playing hours of video games and reading manga does sound pretty good."

"Well, you're welcome to stay anytime." Yugi smiled, that big, radiant, white smile that could cut through any darkess. Including his. Yami pulled open the door and the little bell rang cheerfully. Joey slowly made his way out, waving to both of them and then disappearing into the growing dusk. As soon as he was gone, Yami flipped the lock, grabbed his deck and made his way back over to Yugi.

"Come on, lets go upstairs." The little Hikari picked his manga up off the counter and followed his taller half up the stairs, flipping the lights as he ascended.
**
Joey walked quickly, for the night brought cold nipping at it's heels. Already, Joey could feel a chill through his jacket. But that wasn't the only chill. Memories flooded back to him from the last few hours. Spending time with Mai, and of course, Yami and Yugi, was always a treat. But seeing Mai, watching her graceful, cat-like movements, put him on cloud-nine...until he realized he couldn't have her. Ever since Duelist Kingdom, she was a different person. Not looks wise, but personality wise. She was kinder, less materialistic, gentler and sweeter but still beautiful. She would always be beautiful. The only problem was that Joey didn't have the guts to say it to her. He had felt sparks fly between them, even in Dueist Kingdom, but could he have been imagining it? That thought made him sink into a pit of despair, for the third time on his stroll home. His emotions would reach a peak of complete and utter happiness, and then fall into a ditch of doubt, self resentment and sadness. Joey felt his fists tighten and his nails dug into the soft skin of his palms. 'Why can't I be braver? Why can't she love me like I love her?' Yugi, and most likely Yami, knew only of his "like" of Mai. But they didn't know how much he truly cared for her. Now that she had grown to be less shallow, she was a different person, despite the fact that she still carried around that arrogant facade when she dueled, ESPECIALLY when she dueled Yugi's darker half. Joey knew it was only a mask. It had to be. He remembered the night he had talked with her, after duelist kingdom, DIRECTLY after, when she had told him that she FELT she had changed. The way he had dueled for his sister, and the way Yugi had dueled for his grandfather had touched her. So it must have just been a mask that she kept on around Yami. She still felt the need to prove herself to him, probably...Joey ran over everything in his head, twice, three times...the main topic of his love for her branching into smaller topics and those branching still until he didn't remember what he was thinking about originally. While his mind worked, his feet worked as well, and soon, he was home.
***

"Boring...boring....BORING...." Yugi flipped through the channels with his eyes half close and his back slumped up against the headboard of the bed. Yami was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth.

"Aibou, it can't be that bad. Are you telling me that out of a hundred something channels you can't find one to amuse you? In my day we kept ourselves busy with a gameboard and few different colored rocks."

Yami emerged from the bathroom wearing a white collared shirt and a pair of black boxers. He walked over to the bed and folded his other clothes, placing them in a neat pile on a chair in the corner of Yugi's room. Yugi watched him dazedly.

"In your day...I would have gone insane." Yami snorted.

"The Pharaohs had the most pressing job."

"What's so hard about being fanned and fed grapes?"

Yami ran a hand through his hair, sighing.

"Do you REALLY think that's what life was like?"

"Sure."

"I had lots of business to care to, countries to defend, people to make happy-"

"Did you have highschool?"

"Well, no...I had a tutor."

"Highschool is harder. Trust me. I'd take being a Pharaoh any day."

Yami sat next to his light on the bed. There was some things he would never understand about him. This "highschool" couldn't be THAT bad. Could it? Yugi turned to him and gave the Pharaoh the remote. Yami looked down at it and then tossed it over his shoulder.
"Hey!"

"What?"

"Why'd you throw the remote?"

Yugi looked at his Yami confused.

"I dunno, it slipped. Why don't you get it?"

Yugi kept his eye on him warily, completely confused, and hopped off the bed. Just then Yami stuck his foot out and Yugi tripped over it, landing on the ground.

"Ow!!!! Ow, ow ow....." He kept his head down, pretending to cry.

"Aibou! I'm sorry I only meant it as a joke!" Yami got up quickly, his expression completely changing to "guardian mode" and knelt down to help him. Yugi then looked up at Yami, tear free, smiled devilishly and tackled him against the bed.

"Ahh!" Yami was pushed back as he realized that Yugi wasn't hurt at all.

"You're too protective for your own good."

Yugi jumped off his dark and leapt onto the bed. Yami followed, narrowing his eyes and smiling. He backed Yugi up slowly to the edge of the bed, before grabbing a pillow from under the quilt and batting him off the head with it. Yugi laughed and followed suit, grabbing the other one and whacking him back. The force of his attack knocked him backwards off the bed and he landed hard, looking around. Then he got back up and whacked the Pharaoh in the stomach, wrenching away _his_ pillow in the process. Standing up to his full but short height on the bed, he raised the pillows above his head and pounded his chest with them, shouting, "I AM THE GAME KING!"

Yami looked up and laughed. His aibou could be so cute. But he was the only game king. Pulling his legs out from under his Hikari he got out of the way as Yugi fell on his face into the quilt, giggling. Out of breath, they both leaned against the headboard.

"Are you still bored?"

"Nope," Yugi smiled happily. Both of them breathed in silence for a bit before Yami saw his aibou's eyes begin to droop, just a little. Pulling him over he leaned him against his body and felt Yugi's heavy head rest on his shoulder. The little Hikari yawned.

"Goodnight, Yami."

"Goodnight. And by the way," he turned his head and whispered into Yugi's ear, "I'm the game king now."

Yugi smiled and his head slid onto Yami's chest. Sleep slowly claimed him and he fell quiet to the sound of his dark's heartbeat.
********
When Mai switched the hairdryer off she was stunned by the silence of the room. It was one o'clock and she had been up late showering, blow-drying her hair and watching corny romance flicks by herself. She was such a sucker for those things. Drawing the shades closed she dawned a white tanktop and a pair of cotten shorts and climbed into bed. Even if she did consider herself highly fashionable, she didn't feel any need to dress up at night. It wasn't as if she was going to see anyone. Sighing, she pulled the silken sheets up to her neck and switched off the light. In the darkness, everything was amplified. The silence grated at Mai's nerves and she uneasily switched her position, trying desperately to not think of the thing that she wanted to think of most. Not a thing, a person. A certain Yami. As soon as that name crept into her mind, everything came in a flood.

His face.

His sleek shape.

Those beautiful eyes...

She liked everything about him. Especially the way he acted. Reserved, but under it all she could just feel the emotions bubbling up. She could tell everything he was feeling. It was all in the eyes. How much he cared for Yugi, how much he cared for his friends. And the way he dueled, walked, spoke...

Silently the blond cursed herself. She had sworn that she wouldn't fall for anyone who just happened to act nice. Not after all the experiences she had. In the pitch black of the apartment, Mai had let down her guard and she couldn't stand it. Could she really love him?
***
Joey stood outside the gameshop, hands in his pockets, cool wind blowing by and rustling his mop of hair. Just then he saw what he had hoped to see, come striding down the street towards him, her locks of gold flowing in the slight breeze. Mai stopped in front of him and flipped her mane over her right shoulder. Taking his chin in her slender hand she planted a firm kiss on his lips before pulling back and looking deep into those dark shaded eyes.
"Joey Wheeler, I love you."

Joey's eyes fluttered open. The smile on his face placed there by the pleasant dream was quickly replaced by a frown as he realized that he was in his bed, in the dark. It was just a dream, afterall. Sitting up groggily he glanced at the red numbers on his clock- 2:10. Frustrated with himself, and wishing that the dream had been a reality, he flipped onto his back and stared at the dots on the ceiling. It was useless trying to fall back asleep. Positively useless. Mai was on his mind now and she took priority even over sleep.

Rolling onto his side he let his thoughts take over. Why did he have to be so shy? Or so...so...He didn't know what it was but whatever you called it he didn't have it. Mai would never love him. He just wasn't right for her. Mai deserved someone, better. Joey closed his eyes tightly and mentally beat himself for being like he was. All he wanted was for her to love him because he loved her so much. He wanted to be the one that she would throw her arms around when she cried and he wanted to be the one that she would look at lovingly.

One single tear found it's way between his tightly closed lashes and slid down his face. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times. Stop it Joey, you're just being stupid. Move on. She'll never like you. That taunting voice in his head was always ragging on him. But somehow, he knew it was the voice of reality. That was the truth in things. He would just have to accept it. He was nothing.


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So that's it! Poor Joey! Was it good or bad? If you have suggestions feel free to tell me, I'm not promising to work anything into the plot tho but I'd love to hear them:-) R&R!

+YuNique+